The former Batwoman couldn't be happier to see the role go to 'an amazing Black woman.'
Ruby Rose couldn't be happier to see Javicia Leslie taking over her Batwoman role. Rose took to Instagram to congratulate the former God Friended Me star on being cast as the new heroine in the CW series that she exited in May after one season.
"OMG!! This is amazing!! I am so glad Batwoman will be played by an amazing Black woman. ❤️," Rose wrote alongside a photo of Leslie. "I want to congratulate Javicia Leslie on taking over the bat cape. You are walking into an amazing cast and crew. I can’t wait to watch season 2 you are going to be amazing !! ❤️"
Leslie will play a new character, Ryan Wilder, who will step into Batwoman's shoes after Rose's Kate Kane disappears from Gotham. She is the first Black actress to play Batwoman in a live-action TV or film production.
After the news broke, Leslie wrote on her Instagram, "For all of the little black girls dreaming to be a superhero one day... it’s possible!"
"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 also expressed in a statement.
According to the character description, Ryan is likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed, and the complete opposite of Kate. With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug runner, dodging the Gotham City Police Department 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.
Meanwhile, Rose announced her surprising departure in May, never revealing the exact reason behind her exit. In June, executive producer Caroline Dries confirmed that Rose's Kane, TV's first lesbian superhero, 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 last month. "Like you, I love Kate Kane -- she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her."
For more on Rose and Batwoman, see below.
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