Batwoman boss Caroline Dries addressed the show’s decision to bring a new Batwoman into the mix instead of recasting Kate Kane during a brief chat with her former boss/colleague Julie Plec during the virtual ATX Television Festival.
“So, to be honest with you, I did consider the soap opera version for a hot minute, selfishly, because we had a couple episodes already written, and transition-wise, it would be seamless [since] we already started breaking season 2,” Dries explained. “But upon further reflection, and [executive producer] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call—and he’s way smarter than me about this sort of stuff—he’s like, ‘You know, I think we should just reboot the character in terms of reboot Batwoman as a different character.’ Just to also respect everything that Ruby [Rose] put into the Kate Kane character.”
Rose announced in May that she had exited the series following the COVID-shortened first season.
With fans now having to adjust to a new Batwoman, Dries admitted she thought a new character might help them with the transition. “I just think it helps the audience a little bit, too, that we’re not asking them to not address the elephant in the room,” she said. “I’m inventing a whole new character. In her past, she was inspired by Batwoman. She is going to take on the mantle and is completely maybe not be the right person at the time to be doing it. That’s what makes it fun.”
