Wallis Day shares her excitement and frustrations with the process that led to her being cast as Kate Kane in Batwoman season 2.
The surprise recasting of Kate Kane with Wallis Day came almost as suddenly as Ruby Rose’s departure from the show at the end of last season, and the road to get there was hardly smooth.
Day explained in an interview with CBR that she was vying to replace Rose as far back as last year when the announcement of her departure was made. The producers, however, decided to continue without Kate on the show physically, and for the time being there was no interest in a replacement.
“Yeah, so I actually went out for it last year, when they announced the departure of Ruby [Rose],” Day said, “but a few weeks into the process, they said that they were heading in a different direction.” That, however, wasn’t the end.
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Got her on speed dial
Showrunner Caroline Dries kept the line of communication with Day open and promised to get back to her if plans changed again, writing her an email that told her they “were going in a different direction” but if they did “end up bringing Kate back” they would give her a call.
Day wasn’t buying it at first, recalling further, “And I was just like, ‘Yeah, right, everyone always says this to the actors!’” But things ultimately did work out as Kate’s return was confirmed a number of months ago.
Rejection dejection
Even though Dries followed through, and rejection happens a lot in her line of work, Day revealed she was upset for a while:
"“But to be honest, I was really upset about it, because it just felt like such a right move. You never really get excited, because you kind of get used to rejection as an actor, but it just gnawed at me. In January, Caroline called, and I was like, ‘Yes, I do still want to play Kate! Let’s do it!’ And here we are.”"
Looking ahead for Kate Kane in Batwoman season 2
With the rest now history, Day can now think about what Kate Kane stands for and represents to her, adding that she links the character to justice because she focuses on both fairness as well as “being so authentically herself”.
She continued:
"“That’s why I love her, because she does have this edgy grit about her and she’s not afraid to be who she is, and that stood out for me as well. But I think, more than anything, it was the way that she just wants to look out for the people she loves and make the world better in such a dark place like Gotham.”"
As you may have seen in last week’s episode or read in our review, Kate Kane’s return to that dark place is not a triumphant one. Scarred and her memories erased, she is under the control of Gotham kingpin Black Mask and set against her sister and former allies.
Wallis Day is on a renewed mission of making a name for herself in this new part, even if she is behind a mask or bandages most of the time, but she is already familiar to fans of the DC universe for playing Nyssa-Vex on two seasons of the SYFY original series Krypton.
Batwoman‘s second season airs Sundays at 9 PM ET on The CW.
What do you think? Are you surprised by Wallis Day’s reaction to getting caught up in the ups and downs of Batwoman behind the scenes? Give us your thoughts in the comments down below or on our social media.