Batwoman: EP Caroline Dries Addresses Replacing Ruby Rose and Kate Kane

JB Augustine |

Jun 9, 2020

Ruby Rose promptly left Batwoman after the first season finished for reasons known to her and a few others but not disclosed widely. Whatever the case, it was surprisingly announced her legacy as Kate Kane won’t be supplanted and she will be replaced by an entirely new character.

Showrunner Caroline Dries talked about why she isn’t recasting and is instead rebooting Batwoman in a sense with her original creation, Ryan Wilder, at the virtual ATX Television Festival. Deadline picked up her remarks.

Batwoman

Dries stated she gives credit to Greg Berlanti for the move:

“To be honest with you, I did consider the soap opera version for a hot minute, selfishly because we had already a couple of episodes written, and transition-wise it would be seamless. Upon further reflection — and Greg helped me make this call, he is way smarter than me about this sort of stuff — he said, you know, we should just reboot the character in terms of reboot Batwoman as a different character, and also respect everything that Ruby put into the Kate Kane character.”

She added her take on how it “helps” their audience:

“And I just think it helps the audience a little bit too, that we are not asking them to not address the elephant in the room.”

Some outlets think “Ryan Wilder” is a cover for an established character from the comics, but Dries dispelled that notion:

“I’m inventing a whole new character who in her past was inspired by Batwoman, so she will take on the mantle and is completely maybe not the right person at the time to be doing it, so that’s what makes it fun.”

Batwoman

In case you missed it, here is the leaked character description for Wilder:

”Female, Mid-late 20s, any ethnicity. Ryan Wilder is about to become Batwoman. She’s likable, 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. Today, reformed and sober, Ryan lives in van with her plant. A girl who would steal milk from an alley cat and could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly disciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero.”

Ryan Wilder isn’t cast yet but it opens the door to a few vying to play Batwoman, especially WWE’s Sonya DeVille. Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz and Hunger Games star Amandla Stenberg are also in the conversation.

There are analysts on board with the decision to make a new lead heroine. While there is the promise of a fresh start, the idea feels desperate and rushed, like they want to please everyone, including Ruby Rose who has a slim chance of coming back.

The new Batwoman will be introduced in Season 2 which debuts in 2021, the year of The Batman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.