‘Batwoman’: Javicia Leslie proud to be ‘first Black actress’ to play the role, fans say ‘it will still be bad’
There's a new 'Batwoman' in Gotham and The CW has doubled down on its determination to have the Arrowverse be as diverse as possible. It has cast Javicia Leslie as its new lead, who will be donning the cowl after Ruby Rose left the show.
Javicia Leslie will not replace Rose's character Kate Kane, but will play an entirely new one. According to the description we have, she will be playing an all new character created for TV — Ryan Wilder, who has no direct comic book counterpart. According to the description that's been circulating for Wilder's casting, Wilder is "likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She’s also nothing like Kate Kane (previously played by Rose), 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."
"“I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community,” Leslie said, to Variety.
"With the casting of Javicia Leslie, Batwoman will become the first network drama in history with a gay black female lead. I’m not sure if you care about this information, but now it’s stuck in your head forever," notes one fan.
There are, of course, a wave of fans who believe that the move is nothing but The CW pushing an agenda, and another wave of fans are there to head them off. Many of the commenters are yet to see the original series, and of course, there is a lot of confusion from those reacting before finding out that Kate Kane's character will not be black, but instead replaced with the new character Ryan Wilder on the show. The move seems to have triggered renewed interest in the show.
"Maybe now i will watch the show," appears to be a recurring sentiment. "I'm never heard of / saw Javicia Leslie before but good god I'm watching #Batwoman from now on. She is stunningly gorgeous," writes a fan on Twitter. "Suddenly I'm a Batwoman fan," claims one tweet. "I'll admit I didn't get around to watching much of S1 of Batwoman... but I am VERY intrigued by how a new Batwoman right off the heels of S1 will go down, and she seems like a fantastic choice!" says another fan.
Most fans, however, while they are excited or ambivalent about the casting, believe that none of it matters if 'Batwoman' doesn't get better writing than what it received in Season 1. "Yea... the writing is gonna have to be top caliber to bring back people who will jump ship on principle alone," writes a fan, adding, "I can see CW forcing the show through Season 3 because they sunk so much money in it, but it's gonna have a LONG way to go to get its audience back."
"Now could they please give her decent scripts so we can have a great Batwoman on screen?" asks one fan. "I wish Javicia good luck, and will definitely tune in come season 2, but CW better have a good story in hand for this transition," says another.
"I mean a bad show is bad replacing the person isn’t going to change anything. It will still be bad," claims this viewer. "I must admit I've no idea who she is but I'm sure she'll do fine. But please, for the love of all that is HOLY, Fire the writers!!! It's been a f***ing cringe fest from episode 1. Batwoman is an Iconic character and one of my faves. Please don't allow them to ruin her even more," writes this viewer.
'Batwoman' will return for a Season 2 in January 2021.