Javicia Leslie Cast As New ‘Batwoman’ For Season 2
As most of you are aware, Ruby Rose decided to hang up her cowl following the first season of ‘Batwoman‘. Now, WB has announced actress Javicia Leslie will pick up the mantle of the Bat for Season 2.
Javicia Leslie will play Ryan Wilder, who is described as likeable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She’s also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit before her. With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero.
“I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honoured to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community,” Leslie commented.
Leslie is not really a familiar face to UK audiences. She starred is CBS show ‘God Friended Me’ until it was cancelled earlier this year, but it has never aired this side of the pond, and BET series ‘The Family Business’, which hasn’t aired here either. She did also pop up in a couple of episodes of ‘MacGyver’ as well.
“Ryan Wilder” is not a name from currently DC Comics canon, and it would appear is an entirely new invention for the tv show. Unlike most DC characters who have had multiple versions (e.g. various people as Batman, and more Robin’s than you know what to do with), Kate Kane has pretty much been the only Batwoman in current continuity. The variations have mainly been via alt-history timelines or one-off stories. There is the original Silver Age Kathy Kane, along with her niece, Bette Kane, who both wore the suit (the latter becoming hero Flamebird). In a 1998 JLA story Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) donned the Batwoman, and in a 2019 Young Justice story, Stephanie Brown (aka Spoiler/Robin) was the Batwoman from Earth-3.
It was an interesting choice by WB and the Arrowverse team to opt for a new character, rather than a straight-up recast. So much of Season 1 was built around the family connections of Kate Kane – her relationship to Alice, her father being the leader of The Crows, and her ex-girlfriend working for her dad etc… It would certainly have been the easier choice to just switch the actors, but it feels like Season 2 is going to be something of a soft-reboot for the show. As for Kate Kane herself, she won’t be killed off, but will have vanished, and according to showrunner Caroline Dries “her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of Season 2.”
‘Batwoman‘ Season 1 is currently airing on E4 in the UK.
