Earlier this year, it was announced that actress Ruby Rose would not be returning to her starring role in the CW's Batwoman, one of the newest shows in its Arrowverse series, due to issues with its production cycle. Warner Bros. and showrunners indicated they would be bringing a whole new character for Batwoman rather than recasting Rose's Kate Kane, and it has been officially announced that Javicia Leslie will take over in Season 2, airing sometime in 2021.
Leslie, whose previous experience is mainly on other television series like CBS' MacGyver reboot and the CW's God Friended Me according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), is now primed to be the first Black actress to play the DC Comics superhero through a new character named Ryan Wilder. In a statement publicized by outlets like Variety, she said, "As a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community."
In replacing Rose as Batwoman, Warner Bros. previously made a statement saying it was committed to hiring another LGBTQ actress in the role. At this point, it's not clear how production will be replacing Kane in the events of the show, so fans of the Arrowverse will have to wait for new episodes to find out.
As the CW continues to run its variety of superhero shows, DC Comics is also expanding its offerings through the streaming service HBO Max. Content Chief Kevin Reilly has previously stated that these new DC Comics shows will have "cinematic production values," befitting characters like Green Lantern.
Batwoman Season 2 will air in 2021.