Although The CW president Mark Pedowitz played it cool when asked how likely it was that the network would actually follow through on its plans for a Batwoman standalone series at the TCAs yesterday—“we have committed, hopefully, to do a pilot, subject to development, for next midseason for Batwoman. Whether it goes to series, I cannot tell you yet,” he said—here’s one indication that it’s serious: Ruby Rose has been cast as Kate Kane, a.k.a. Batwoman, for at least the annual DC crossover event in December.
That’s a big name to bring in for a one-off appearance: Rose appeared in three major studio action movies last year—XXX: The Return Of Xander Cage, Resident Evil: Final Chapter, and John Wick: Chapter 2—and has a co-starring role in The Meg, due out this week. She also came out as a lesbian at age 12 and identifies as gender fluid (she still uses feminine pronouns, however) and has done quite a bit of work with various LGBTQ organizations. So she ticks all the boxes of this character description from a CW press release:
Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence. But don’t call her a hero yet. In a city desperate for a savior, Kate must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.
The Vampire Diaries’ Caroline Dries is currently working on a script for the Batwoman pilot, with Greg Berlanti serving as executive producer. With Berlanti and Rose now attached, we’re moving this one from the “maybe” column to “in life and in TV development, nothing is guaranteed, but yeah, this one’s probably happening.”
Additional reporting by Erik Adams