There’s a new Batwoman in town!
Yes, that’s right. Ruby Rose‘s replacement has been cast. Actress Javicia Leslie, who you might know from CBS’s God Friended Me, has been tapped to play the titular role in the CW drama.
The actress released a statement on the casting, which reads: “I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show, which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community.”
She will, as previously reported, not be playing Kate Kane, but an entirely new character who will take over Kate Kane’s mantle. According to the official description, the character, Ryan Wilder, is “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 Ryan lives in her van with her plant. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat and 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.”
We’re on the record as thinking they should just have recast Kate Kane, as so much of the show revolves around her, but there’s a part of us that’s rejoicing at the casting of a Black woman in such an iconic role.
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