The CW and the Arrowverse producer Greg Berlanti cast Javicia Leslie as the new Batwoman. Leslie — who appeared on TV shows like The Family Business, MacGyver, and God Friended Me — will portray an original character named Ryan Wilder. While previous Batwoman Kate Kane descended from a wealthy family and used her military background to fight crime, Wilder is a former drug runner from the wrong side of the town. Her closest comic book analog might be Harper Row. First introduced in 2011, Row helped Batman and developed a crush on Batwoman before she became a superhero named Bluebird.
The CW’s Batwoman first aired in October 2019 as some of its older superhero shows like Green Arrow came to an end. Australian actress Ruby Rose (John Wick: Chapter 2, XXX: Return of Xander Cage) played Batwoman/Kate Kane. During the shooting of the first season, Rose suffered an injury that almost left her paralyzed. She left the show in May due to its challenging production schedule. However, Batwoman was renewed and will continue with Leslie.
Season two of Batwoman will premiere in January 2021.
