The CW's Batwoman producer Marc Guggenheim thinks that Ruby Rose's exit from the show can amount to something positive. Guggenheim is largely known for creating two other successful superhero shows for The CW, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.
Batwoman follows Bruce Wayne's cousin Kate Kane after she returns to Gotham City. When she discovers that Wayne is Batman, she uses his suit and gadgets to become her own vigilante. In addition to becoming Gotham City's new protector, she tries to build meaningful new relationships and navigate her complicated dynamic with her family. Rose's character first appeared in live-action during Elseworlds, the 2018 Arrowverse crossover event. Batwoman also marks the first time a lesbian superhero has lead her own series.
On May 19th, it was announced the star of Batwoman, Rose, was leaving the series after season 1. The role will be recast for season 2, leading fans to wonder who will be cast as Batwoman after Rose. In an interview with Collider, Guggenheim was asked how it feels to have Rose leave the series, especially since she is the first lead actor in an Arrowverse series to do so. Guggenheim said that while Rose's departure is unfortunate, it can provide a "great creative opportunity" for the writers of the show. Guggenheim said:
I was talking to one of the Batwoman writers, the other day, and we were saying how, in this, is a great creative opportunity. I think there’ll be people who come to the show, quite frankly, just to see how the writers choose to handle this. I’m a big believer that anytime you face a production challenge, and sometimes it’s in cast while sometimes it’s just logistics, in that challenge, lies a creative opportunity. I was actually talking about that with Beth Schwartz, the other day. We were talking about how, once production presumes posts the pandemic, how are we going to work with all these different limitations? And it’s the exact same thing, which is that, in those limitations and in those challenges lie the chance to do something new and different, and come up with a clever creative solution. That, to me, is the fun part of the job.
While it is still unclear as to why Rose exited Batwoman, it is no secret that the series had its share of hiccups. There was significant backlash when it was initially announced that Rose would play Batwoman, and the actress actually deleted her Twitter account as a result. When the trailer for the series premiered, people criticized it for its heavy-handed approach to promoting feminism. Before filming started, Rose was injured during a stunt and required emergency surgery that forced her to reduce the number of stunts she performed on Batwoman. It was recently revealed that Rose leaving Batwoman might have been a mutual breakup between her and the network, as her unhappiness on set would make her difficult to work with.
Rose's exit provides more uncertainties to the Arrowverse's already unclear future. The shared universe's longest running show, Arrow, aired its final episode this past January. A spinoff is reported to be in development, following Oliver Queen's daughter as the new Green Arrow and the two Black Canaries. A spinoff of Supergirl, Superman & Lois, was also announced, with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch reprising their roles. With the development of these new shows and delayed productions on existing shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rose's departure from Batwoman only adds further complications to The CW's superhero universe.
Source: Collider