Yesterday we discovered that Orange Is the New Black and John Wick: Chapter Two actress Ruby Rose had been cast as Batwoman in The CW’s Arrowverse and is set to make her debut during the network’s annual crossover event between Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Rose has now put out a statement via her Instagram on how excited she is to be playing Batwoman, calling it a “childhood dream”.
Batwoman was first introduced in the Batman comics in 1956 as Kathy Kane. Since then, the character has been revamped through writer Greg Rucka as Kate Kane, a former United States Marine who left West Point due to the army’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy regarding her sexual orientation as a lesbian. Still wanting to do good, she was inspired by an encounter with Batman to become a vigilante on her own. Working with her father, a military veteran, she became Batwoman and fights crime both in Gotham and around the world.
The CW currently has plans for a separate Batwoman series after her introduction in the Arrowverse crossover. Though it is still in the pilot stages with Caroline Dries (The Vampire Diaries) developing it, it will begin production in July 2019 should it be picked up for a full series. The logline for Batwoman is:
Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence. But don’t call her a hero yet. In a city desperate for a savior, Kate must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.
Meanwhile, despite the obvious connection to Batman, as well as Arrow and Supergirl‘s own allusions to the Dark Knight, The CW currently has no plans to introduce Batman to the Arrowverse through Batwoman or its other series.
Ruby Rose will be seen next in the Jason Statham led shark thriller The Meg.
