Ruby Rose will no longer play Batwoman on Batwoman

Well, that’s a shocker. The CW’s Batwoman aired its season 1 finale, “O, Mouse!” just the other day. Originally, the season was going to have two more episodes, but then COVID-19 happened, production shut down, and the rest is familiar. Anyway, the series starred Ruby Rose as Kate Kane, a cousin to Bruce Wayne who takes up the mantle of Batwoman in his absence to defend Gotham City from the criminal underworld. The show got pretty good press, drew accolades for featuring an out lesbian main character, and did well enough in the ratings for The CW to renew it for a second season due to premiere in January of 2021, COVID permitting.

But clearly something went wrong, because today Ruby Rose announced that she won’t be returning to the role. “I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season,” she said in a statement. “This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles. I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success—I am truly grateful.”

Whoa. No reason was given for Rose’s departure, but Warner Bros. and The CW did put out their own statement:

"Warner Bros. Television, The CW and Berlanti Productions thank Ruby for her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best. The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwoman’s second season and long-term future, and we —along with the show’s talented creative team—look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months."

So Ruby Rose is leaving but The CW plans to recast the role and forge on with the series. Good luck finding a star with that perfect a name: Ruby Rose is practically a better superhero alter ego name than Kate Kane. Which is the secret superhero and which is the workaday actor? It’s impossible to tell!

But seriously, this is very unusual. I mean, there have been situations in the past where characters were replaced by other actors, but rarely someone in the lead. The best example I can think of is what happened on Spartacus: there, lead actor Andy Whitfield bowed out of the role after he was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Starz then produced a prequel season to allow Whitfield time to recover. Unfortunately, his cancer progressed and he died, at which point the network recast the role with Liam McIntyre.

I don’t feel like that’s what’s happening here, though. But to be fair, I have no idea what’s happening. Good luck, I guess?

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h/t E! News