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Batwoman returns to The CW for its second season on Sunday, January 17, but the DC show will look a little different for its sophomore set of episodes. Ruby Rose led the cast of the first season, but taking her place for Season 2 is Javicia Leslie.
Leslie will not be playing Kate Kane, the character played by Rose in the first season, but a new role called Ryan Wilder described in a leaked casting notice as, "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."
This change in main character for Batwoman came after Rose announced she was leaving after a single season of the CW hit in May 2020. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, she spoke of quitting the show due to finding it too physically taxing, particularly after an on-set accident saw her needing back surgery.
She said: "Being the lead of a superhero show is tough. Being the lead in anything is tough...But I think, in that particular instance, it was a lot more difficult because I was still recovering from my surgery. I had my surgery and then 10 days later I went to work, which maybe wasn't the best idea.
"Most people take about a month or three off before they return to work, so it was definitely made more difficult by that. But as far as being a lead of a show or a film—regardless if it's action or if it's emotional—in whichever ways it's taxing."
Rose went on to say that the coronavirus pandemic played a part in her decision, saying, "you have time in quarantine and sort of isolation to just think about a lot of different things and what you want to achieve in life and what you want to do."
After Rose announced she was leaving, the show's team confirmed that they were looking for a member of the LGBTQ+ community to play the out lesbian superhero, and eventually cast the bisexual Leslie in the role.
Writing on Instagram, the actor said of her casting: "I feel like there are so many little Javicias, little Black girls who didn't have voices, little bisexual, bicurious, lesbian, gay, everything, that just didn't have voices, and I feel honored to be able to be a voice for my community and the entirety of my community."
In the first episode of Season 2, viewers will be able to find out exactly how the writers have chosen to write off her character in an installment titled: "Whatever Happened to Kate Kane?"
Speaking at the DC FanDome virtual event, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries said of this decision: "The first [plotline in Season 2] is: Where is Kate? What happened to Kate? Is she alive? Is she dead? Is she missing? Is she on the run? Is she held captive? Is she lost? These are all huge mysteries that push us deep into the season. All of our characters are going to have different perspectives on that. Different conspiracy theories, different points of view, and it will create a lot of drama, mystery, tension, intrigue. It will be shocking, awesome, and amazing."
Batwoman Season 2 airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on The CW.
