Article by Adam Poncharoensub
With a strong start, leading to an order for season 2, Batwoman was doing well… that is, until last month. The news dropped that Ruby Rose would not be returning to play Kate Kane in season 2. At the time, producers wanted to cast a new actor as Kate, but last week, an even more shocking development hit the Internet when a casting call appeared online for an entirely different character to become Batwoman. Though unconfirmed originally, showrunner Caroline Dries confirmed it when she explained the decision not to recast Kate Kane.
During the ATX Television Festival, Dries appeared virtually to discuss the extremely tough decision to change the character. At first, it seemed that the intention was to change the actor playing Kate Kane. This was seemingly done for convenience on Dries’ part, rather than finding a way to write out Kate. However, after talking it over with the Godfather of the Arrowverse, Greg Berlanti, she was persuaded to change the character instead.
“Inspired by Batwoman”
She said:
So, to be honest with you, I did consider the soap opera version for a hot minute, selfishly, because we had a couple episodes already written, and transition-wise, it would be seamless [since] we already started breaking season 2. But upon further reflection, and [executive producer] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call – and he’s way smarter than me about this sort of stuff – he’s like, “You know, I think we should just reboot the character in terms of reboot Batwoman as a different character.” Just to also respect everything that Ruby [Rose] put into the Kate Kane character.
I just think it helps the audience a little bit, too, that we’re not asking them to not address the elephant in the room. I’m inventing a whole new character. In her past, she was inspired by Batwoman. She is going to take on the mantle and is completely maybe not the right person at the time to be doing it. That’s what makes it fun.
From a storytelling perspective, it kind of works. We’d be getting a character who has to learn and grow into the role. More writing opportunities for character development and all that. However, we’ve had major characters recast is other Arrowverse shows in the past and fans accepted those changes, if the actor was able to bring something new. At the same time, there are a lot of people who adore Kate Kane and relate to her immensely, which would disappoint longtime fans. While it makes sense, I don’t really think it’s a great reason to not recast Kate Kane?
What do you think? Do you like the idea of creating a whole new character to be Batwoman? Or do you prefer Kate Kane remain with a different actor? Or, do we already have a perfect second Batwoman already in the Arrowverse in the shape of Alex Danvers? Please let us know your thoughts.
Season 1 of Batwoman can be streamed on HBO Max.