After just one season, it was revealed that Ruby Rose would be stepping down as the star of The CW's Batwoman, and at the time, it was assumed that a new actress would take on the role of Kate Kane, but word later emerged that the studio would actually be creating a new character to take over the mantle of Batwoman. Since then, rumblings have emerged that Kate Kane would actually be killed off to make room for the new Batwoman, but showrunner Caroline Dries took to Twitter to assure fans that Kane would not be killed off, particularly as she doesn't want to add to "Bury Your Gays" trope which is all too prevalent.
"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," Dries explained. "Like you, I Love Kate Kane…We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of Season 2." You can read the rest of Dries' statement below.
A note from me on behalf of The Bat Team… pic.twitter.com/V6iXjaCrA5
— Caroline Dries (@carolinedries) June 10, 2020
Caroline Dries explained several days ago that creating a new character, rather than recasting Kate Kane, would hopefully help audiences adjust to a new face as Batwoman. "I just think it helps the audience a little bit, too, that we’re not asking them to not address the elephant in the room," Dries said. "I’m inventing a whole new character. In her past, she was inspired by Batwoman. She is going to take on the mantle and is completely maybe not be the right person at the time to be doing it. That’s what makes it fun."
Nothing is official just yet, but previous reports have stated that the new character reportedly goes by the name of Ryan Wilder, who was described in a since-deleted casting notice on Reddit as a woman in her mid-20s who is "about to become Batwoman." The casting noticed described Wilder as, "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. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat 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."
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