Ruby Rose Is Officially The CW's Batwoman

A new masked vigilante is making her way to the CW. Today (August 7), the network reported that queer actress Ruby Rose would don Kate Kane's mask and cape and make her official debut as Batwoman in the annual DC Crossover Event later this year before leading her own show in 2019.


Rose's casting is notable for a few reasons. With credits in action flicks like John Wick 2, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, and this summer's The Meg, the Aussie is more than capable of taking on Gotham City's worst. And then there's the fact that Batwoman marks television's first openly gay titular superhero — and Rose herself identifies as gender fluid.


The actress took to social media to call the news a "childhood dream," adding, "This is something I would have died to have seen on TV any time As soon as I was a young member of the LGBT community who never felt represented on TV and felt alone and different."


The logline for the series describes Kate Kane as an out lesbian and trained street fighter with a "passion for social justice and flair for speaking her mind" who patrols and protects the streets of Gotham as Batwoman. Read the official synopsis below:

Armed with a love of social justice as well as a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and rather trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence. Although don’t call her a hero however. In a city desperate for a savior, Kate must conquer her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope. Based on the characters from DC.

Despite the fact that Batwoman resides in Gotham and Batman himself has been referenced on Arrow, there really are currently no plans to have the Caped Crusader appear on the show. (As for Robin, well, there really are already two Dick Graysons in development — in DC's Titans television series and Chris McKay's Nightwing flick — so maybe Tim Drake will finally get the respect he deserves.) Here's hoping that Gotham's resident leather-clad bisexual villainess, Catwoman, also sinks her claws into Kate's world.


The Vampire Diaries showrunner Caroline Dries will serve as executive producer and writer, while prolific producer Greg Berlanti will produce alongside Sarah Schechter and DC's Geoff Johns.