Say it ain’t so! After one of the most successful and hugely hyped casting lands in ages, Ruby Rose the star of The CW Original Series Batwoman has announced that she’s stepping down from the coveted role, playing Gotham City’s newest caped wonder. It comes as a shock to many of the show’s fans, especially as the Season 1 cliffhanger professed to include a startling twist that has introduced none other than Bruce Wayne/The Batman into the primetime Arrowverse mythology; the role going to Warren Christie (from Alphas fame).
Batwoman followed the ascent to the heights of heroism for Kate Kane, the one-time aspiring career soldier, who is discharged from military school when her superior officers learn she has been carrying on a gay relationship with a fellow cadet. Ruby Rose, herself an outspoken member of the LGBTQ+ community landed the lead role in producer Greg Berlanti’s DC comics line-up. Series showrunner Caroline Dries has been emphatically connected to the character since her magnificent debut in 2018’s Arrowverse* crossover event “Elseworlds”.
Are we still calling it the “Arrowverse” even though Arrow starring Stephen Amell has ended its historic eight-season run? Maybe it’s time for an upgrade to “The CW/DC Primetime Universe”, as The Flash starring Grant Gustin and Supergirl starring Melissa Benoist move into the front seat for the franchises. Batwoman immediately nabbed critical attention when after the network greenlit the first season soon as the pilot episode got under way. Rose certainly had a lot to do with the success of the series inaugural season and played a big part in 2019’s annual crossover event.
The Bat Legacy
The comic book character of Batwoman was reinvigorated and reentered into canon in 2006 by the publishing imprint, and elevated her profile, making Kate Kane a direct familial relation of billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, who masquerades as the vigilante Batman. Also hoping to expand on their readership and represent the diversity of its audience, DC decided that this contemporary iteration of the character would be a lesbian. Immediately Batwoman became an overnight hit, and it wasn’t long before the heroine translated to primetime.
Given the scope and success of Greg Berlanti and his team to have created a narratively interconnected universe in primetime that many have believed rise above the pale comparison of the DC properties film franchises, the introduction of Kate Kane and the Batwoman alongside Green Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl made for very exciting television. Ruby Rose immediately generated instant chemistry opposite Benoist in her role as Supergirl. The two were paired un in the 5-part “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover that rejiggered the timeline.
With Ruby Rose firmly rooted into the captain seat, Batwoman made its way to the top most-watched shows on The CW, and its first season garnered some critical acclaim. Although it had been hotly contested that Batman was strictly off-limits to The CW (especially while WB Studios continue to mine the heroes popularity on the big-screen with the next feature film starring The Twilight Saga Robert Pattinson assuming the reigns from Justice League Ben Affleck), in the series cliffhanger, Bruce Wayne is introduced…in a matter of speaking.
At the conclusion of Season 1, Kate’s sister, the cunning criminal psychopath known as Alice (Rachel Skarsten) had made a literal bargain with the devil! Tommy Elliot’s obsession with Bruce Wayne put him on a dark path and turned him into the treacherous villain Hush, but under Alice’s guile she is able to give Tommy a new identity — the face of Bruce Wayne! Alice wants Elliot, as Bruce, to infiltrate Kate’s inner circle and steal from her the Achilles heal to bring down Batwoman forever!
With COVID-19 putting a pause on production, attention has turned to recasting the lead role vacated by Rose. Greg Berlanti and Caroline Dries prided themselves on having cast an openly LGBTQ member of the community to authentically take on the role. With Batwoman next season slated to return in January 2021, the hunt now begins for the right actress to fill the cape and cowl which had been so perfectly molded to fit Rose. Over the next few weeks, all eyes will be tuned in to see who will inherit the night on Batwoman.
Batwoman | Season 2 | Returns in 2021 on The CW.