Javicia Leslie will suit up as Batwoman in season two of The CW series, replacing Ruby Rose after she decided to walk away from the role of Kate Kane. Leslie plays a newly created character, of course, and there's a lot of excitement surrounding what Ryan Wilder is going to bring to the table.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter about joining the cast of Batwoman, the actress said that both she and the character share a "quirky but 'I’m a boss if I have to be' type of mentality," something which led to her connecting with Ryan from the start. Showrunner Carolin Dries, meanwhile, tells the trade that when it came to her audition, "Javicia blew everyone else away."
Leslie says she still hasn't seen the Batwoman costume, and shooting obviously hasn't started yet. However, she's definitely ready for the role from a physical standpoint. "I’m very active in my personal life," she says, "so being able to allow that to be my work, that’s heaven for me. I do Muay Thai. I do fitness training. I run. Anything that’s active I’m always down for, so this is going to be like playing on the playground every day."
As for what it means to become the first Black Batwoman, Leslie explains that, "This really had nothing to do with me and everything to do with my people and with little Black girls. There’s not many actors that get this opportunity to play in a world that you can continue to develop and expand on for a decade. This is a great beginning to what I’m sure will be a very long journey."
Needless to say, comic book fans are massively excited to follow her on that, and to see what the actress brings to the role of Batwoman when she joins the Arrowverse early next year.