Batwoman showrunners defiantly recast Kate Kane to break away from tired TV trope
Wallis Day (L) and Ruby Rose. (Getty Images)
Batwoman revealed Sunday night (21 March) that Wallis Day will now star as Kate Kane following the abrupt departure of Ruby Rose.
Rose quit the history-making role as the out-and-proud Kane last year, with reports at the time suggesting it was down to an on-set injury.
As the CW show sped into its second season without Rose, the cape and cowl were passed to bisexual actor Javicia Leslie, becoming the franchise’s first Black Batwoman as she plays original character, Ryan Wilder.
But viewers were left with one burning question: “What ever happened to Kate Kane?”
Fans were finally given their answer during the eighth episode “Survived Much Worse”.
Day has taken over the role of Kane in the superhero drama, with the latest episode revealing that Kane is alive but has suffered severe injuries from a plane crash teased at the beginning of the season.
The Krypton star will now play Kane moving forward, with her being shown bandaged up and held hostage.
Leslie will continue to play Batwoman, according to Deadline, as the second season explores Kane’s whereabouts.
Day broke the news herself on Twitter, writing: “Super excited to finally announce I’m joining the cast of Batwoman.
Super excited to finally announce I’m joining the cast of Batwoman. I’m sure you can imagine how much this means to me and how incredible it’s been working on the show so far. Everyone’s made me feel so welcome and it’s amazing being back home with my DC family ?♥️ https://t.co/UJpkF1uAAC
— Wallis Day (@wallisday) March 22, 2021
“I’m sure you can imagine how much this means to me and how incredible it’s been working on the show so far.
“Everyone’s made me feel so welcome and it’s amazing being back home with my DC family.”
Showrunner Caroline Dries explained to Entertainment Tonight that Day’s Kane will “rattle” Ryan’s confidence in the second half of the sophomore season.
“Seeing Ryan grow into the Batsuit has been priority one from a storytelling point of view, and it’s been a beautiful journey so far witnessing Ryan take on that mantle, and she’s proven to the city by episode eight that she is Batwoman,” Dried said.
“She belongs in the suit. And when Kate comes back, and when they discover Kate’s back, that confidence will be rattled a little bit, and she’ll start to wonder, ‘Well, where do I fit.’
“And so while the city believes in her, full-heartedly, Ryan will go through her own journey of learning to believe in herself, and that’s really something we focus on towards the later part of season two.”
Batwoman showrunners refused to give in to the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope
Showrunners have struggled with how to handle Kate Kane since Ruby Rose’s abrupt departure. But they always knew one thing: They weren’t going to kill her off.
LGBT+ characters are killed off or left unhappy so frequently in fictional stories that there’s even a phrase for it now: “Bury Your Gays”.
And for Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, having Kane meet that same fate was always out of the question.
“As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past 15 years, I’m well aware of the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope and I have no interest in participating in it,” Dries said last year.
“That’s why it’s important to me as the showrunner to clarify any misinformation out there about Kate Kane and recasting Batwoman.
“Like you, I love Kate Kane – she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two.”
She added: “I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all our devoted fans, please know that LGBT+ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that.”
