Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries revealed what fans can expect from the CW’s new hero in season 2.
During the Legacy of the Bat panel at Caroline Dries, host Nyambi Nyambi (The Good Fight) asked Dries how Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder story would fit season 2.
“At first, she doesn’t fit,” said Dries. “She doesn’t fit literally. She makes it fit her. In making it fit her, she makes the Bat accessible to this whole other world of people who normally might not have a hero to look up to. So, she puts her stamp on the legacy.”
When actress Ruby Rose, who played Kate Kane/Batwoman in season 1, suddenly left the series, Dries decided to take the show in another direction with the creation Leslie’s Ryan. Whereas Kate came from a wealthy family, Ryan is a skilled fighter who currently lives out of her van after spending several years as a drug runner.
How she ends up becoming Batwoman has yet to be revealed. Dries stated Kate’s disappearance is one of season 2’s mysteries, explaining why she decided to create this new character.
“Kate Kane has disappeared in season 2, and it was controversial to the fans because of course they love Kate Kane, so of course we’re going to keep her part of the show,” said Dries. “But [Rose’s exit] also gave us this really unique opportunity to create a new Batwoman. I decided to make up a character named Ryan Wilder who is the opposite of Kate Kane. Ryan Wilder is a character that Batwoman needs to protect. It just provided a new rich storytelling device for us.”
Leslie, who is the first Black woman to play Batwoman, also appeared on the panel and opened about what her casting means to her.
“What I love about DC, what I love about WB, what I love about [Greg] Berlanti is that you have these iconic characters, and they’ve done this amazing job of making them so many different ethnicities and shapes and sizes, and things that weren’t as typical as you may have imagined when you were a kid,” said Leslie, who also appeared on the BAWSE: Females of Color Within the DC Universe earlier that day. “They’ve showed us you can be anything no matter what the color of your skin is.”
Batwoman will return in 2021.
