Batwoman season 2: Showrunner explains why they’re replacing Kate Kane

After Ruby Rose’s departure, Caroline Dries talked about why the showrunners decided a new character should lead Batwoman season 2.

Batwoman season 2 will look quite different from its premiere season. Following the shock exit of its lead star, Ruby Rose, the showrunners have chosen a different direction for the Arrowverse show’s return.

Rose played Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, and the showrunners were left wondering how to approach the change in the actor. However, it was recently revealed that a new character would be introduced to take on the mantle of Gotham’s protector.

Deadline reports that in an interview, creator and showrunner Caroline Dries addressed the decision to replace Kate Kane with Ryan Wilder.

The thought process behind changing the lead in Batwoman season 2

Dries initially toyed with the idea of swapping out the actor playing Kate Kane in Batwoman season 2, a tactic employed by soap operas around the world. That plan would have been easier as the premiere season still had a couple of unfinished scripts that involved Kane. To ensure a ‘seamless transition’, she would have preferred to keep Kane as the lead.

Instead of making the audience go through the mental gymnastics of a new Kate Kane, Arrowverse head Greg Berlanti suggested to Dries that they ‘reboot’ the character and introduce someone new to become the Scarlet Knight. Dries agreed with the idea, and from the sounds of it, seems to be excited about creating a completely new character in the DC universe.

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Rebooting the character for Batwoman season 2 preserves the memory of what Ruby Rose brought to Kate Kane, while allowing the showrunners to flex their creative juices for the storyline. Ryan Wilder seems to be younger, and more temperamental than Kate, and in the interview Dries even hints that Wilder may not be the best person for the job.

We are still curious to see how introducing a new character with possibly no connection to the rest of the cast of characters will impact Batwoman season 2. The first season tied all the supporting cast to Kate; what will these characters’ associations be with Wilder in the mix?

Furthermore, there are also still many loose threads that need to be tied up, especially with regards to Alice’s plan to bring down her sister by using a facsimile of their cousin Bruce Wayne. Will Wilder be up to the task of bringing down these villains?

Now that it’s confirmed that Ryan Wilder will be the lead in Batwoman season 2, how do you suppose she’ll fit into the show’s story