Earlier this year it was revealed that Ruby Rose would be stepping down as the star of Batwoman, which led to plenty of speculation regarding just why the actress had departed. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly recently, Ruby Rose elaborated on her choice to leave the series behind, which has to do with a major injury she received on-set as well as the COVID-19 pandemic which has been ravaging the globe.
Being the lead of a superhero show is tough. [Laughs] Being the lead in anything is tough. But I think, in that particular instance, it was a lot more difficult because I was still recovering from my surgery. I had my surgery and then 10 days later I went to work, which maybe wasn't the best idea. Most people take about a month or three off before they return to work, so it was definitely made more difficult by that. But as far as being a lead of a show or a film — regardless if it's action or if it's emotional — in whichever ways it's taxing.
"It wasn't so much [the injury], especially because after we wrapped up we didn't get to finish the real finale because of COVID," Rose added. "You know, you have time in quarantine and sort of isolation to just think about a lot of different things and what you want to achieve in life and what you want to do. I think for both [me and the producers], it was a great opportunity to have a dialogue about a lot of things. I respect them so much and they've been so respectful to me." It was announced last month that Javicia Leslie had been tapped to step into the cape and cowl for the upcoming second season of Batwoman, and Ruby Rose seems confident that her replacement will do a great job. "I think she definitely knows what she's doing and she seems fantastic," Rose said. "I think that honestly, I was so proud and so happy when I was told who would be replacing me. I'm just really stoked and I'm definitely going to watch the next season as well and see how it all comes together."
Javicia Leslie won't be stepping into the role of Kate Kane, the role played by Ruby Rose, but a new character by the name of Ryan Wilder. The character has been described as "likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She’s also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the Batsuit before her. With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits. Today Ryan lives in her van with her plant. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat and could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. She is an out lesbian, athletic, raw, passionate, fallible, and very much not your stereotypical All-American hero."
The second season of Batwoman is still expected to return in early 2021.