Ruby Rose is departing Batwoman; Kate Kane will be recast

In shocking news, Ruby Rose will be leaving the role of Batwoman behind after only one season on her eponymous show.

Only two days after Batwoman aired the finale episode of its freshman season, it has been announced that series star Ruby Rose will not be returning to the show. According to Warner Bros. TV, the producer of Batwoman, the role will be recast for the upcoming second season. Nothing regarding who will be now be cast in the role of Kate Kane/Batwoman has been revealed as of yet.

In a statement from Rose, she said, “I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season. This was not a decision that I made lightly…Thank you to everyone who made season one a success – I am truly grateful.”

Additionally, The CW, Warner Bros. TV, and Berlanti Productions thanked Ruby for her role in the series and expressed their commitment to continue to move forward with the already renewed series, as well as the LGBTQ community Batwoman represents. Batwoman was renewed for a second season back in January.

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With this news coming only a few days after the premature finale of season 1 of Batwoman, it’s possible that this has been a long time coming. A decision like this is not just made over two days, but over months, possibly even dating back to the renewal of the series. It would be unsurprising if behind the scenes, the replacement for Rose has already been cast and the marketing team at The CW is just waiting until filming can resume to announce the new casting.

As for how the new casting will be explained in the show, that could be handled a couple of ways. There could be an entire storyline dedicated to how she looks different or they pull an Iron Man 2 where Don Cheadle was cast as War Machine, replacing Terrence Howard, and call little to no attention to it. Either way, this is a shocking development for the show moving forward.

Will you miss seeing Rose as Kate Kane in season 2? Let us know in the comments below!