Ruby Rose Will Be the CW's Batwoman

The CW announced a few weeks ago that, in addition to bringing DC hero Batwoman to its annual crossover, it was working on a series for the character. The series is still in the works, and the CW has cast its Batwoman: Ruby Rose.

Actress Ruby Rose will appear first in the annual fall crossover event, which will involve Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl this time around, while Legends of Tomorrow will be doing its own thing. This is presumably so that Batwoman can get some proper time at center stage.

Batwoman’s secret identity is Kate Kane. While she’s a rich kid like her friend Bruce Wayne, she had a slightly different upbringing. She saw her mother and sister killed during a kidnapping but grew up with her military father. She followed in his footsteps, joining the military herself, but was discharged when another soldier outed her as being lesbian.

Equipped with years of military combat training and serious equipment by her father, Kane eventually takes to the streets herself as Batwoman.

While the character started life as a Batman knockoff, she’s grown into her own as an interesting character worthy of her own books and show. Like Batwoman, actress Ruby Rose is openly gay. CW had stated an intention to cast a gay actress in the role to match the character, and this follows up on that. Rose has also appeared in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, as well as movies like John Wick: Chapter 2 and the upcoming summer monster movie The Meg. 

Rose will debut as Batwoman this December in the CW’s superhero crossover event, but the network has not yet announced whether it will move ahead with the Batwoman show. This makes 6 CW superhero shows and, including the DC Universe streaming services’ live action offerings of Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing, at least 9 live-action DC superhero shows.