Showrunner Caroline Dries promises that the character, the first lesbian superhero on primetime TV, won't be erased.
Soon after Ruby Rose's abrupt departure from Batwoman, it was revealed that The CW superhero drama was planning to introduce a new character when season 2 kicks off in 2021 to take on the mantle of the eponymous heroine. With the decision not to recast Kate Kane, TV's first lesbian superhero Rose played for one season, there was concern by fans over the erasure of Kate -- an iconic character in DC Comics lore -- on the series.
Now executive producer Caroline Dries is addressing those worries in a new statement, acknowledging the rumors and promising that there is no intention to "erase" Kate from Batwoman. She made clear that Kate would not be killed off.
"As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past 15 years, I’m well aware of the 'Bury Your Gays' trope and I have no interest in participating in it. My comments about recasting Batwoman have launched a storm of rumors and misinformation and I wanted to clarify something," Dries said Wednesday. "Like you, I love Kate Kane -- she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her."
While it remains unclear how Batwoman will be creatively affected by Rose's exit, Kate's disappearance from Gotham City will be a plot point that Dries says she and the writers will embrace wholeheartedly.
"In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season 2," Dries revealed. "I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all our devoted fans, please know that LGBTQ+ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that."
On May 19, two days after the early freshman finale aired, Rose announced she would be stepping down as Kate Kane/Batwoman after one season.
“I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season. This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles," Rose said in a statement. "I am beyond appreciative to [executive producers] Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success -- I am truly grateful.”
Rose addressed her shocking departure on Instagram a week later, writing in part, "It wasn’t an easy decision but those who know, know.. I didn’t want to not acknowledge everyone involved and how big this was for TV and for our community."
Weeks later, details of a new Batwoman character named Ryan Wilder -- likely a new creation who is deeply influenced by Batwoman -- began making the rounds, who would eventually take on the Batwoman mantle. Dries explained why she opted to go this route versus finding a new actress to fill Kate Kane's shoes this past weekend during a brief chat for ATX TV... From the Couch!
“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,” Dries said, as Deadline reported. “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. 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.”
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