The CW's Batwoman pilot has cast its male lead in Dougray Scott and hired a new director. Batwoman is potentially the latest entry in the television network's expanding multiverse of superhero series called the Arrowverse. The show - which will star Ruby Rose as the main character - has yet to be picked up to series by The CW, but all signs point to Batwoman becoming a staple of The CW's schedule during the next television season. Ruby Rose was first introduced as Kate Kane AKA Batwoman in the latest annual Arrowverse crossover "Elseworlds," to high praise.
The latest casting brings the Batwoman series a little closer to reality. However the pilot has lost its original director David Nutter. Known primarily for his work on Game of Thrones, Nutter also has a reputation for directing successful pilots in Hollywood, including Arrow and The Flash. Nutter's attachment to Batwoman made it seem like Batwoman was even more of a shoe-in for The CW. However, Nutter is no longer in the directing chair. Still fans shouldn't be too concerned about the first lesbian superheroine getting her own TV series.
Related: Every Batman Character Confirmed To Exist In The Arrowverse By Elseworlds
Deadline reports that Dougray Scott has been cast as the male lead of Batwoman, Kate Kane's father Jacob Kane. Based on the character of the same name from the comics, Jacob Kane is a former military colonel with a "chip on his shoulder." The pilot will see Jacob out of the military and leading a private security firm named The Crows, and determined to keep Gotham safe after the disappearance of Batman. During the pilot, Kane is unaware of his daughter's dual identity of Batwoman, and has an intense dislike for vigilantes.
In the report it's also mentioned that David Nutter will no longer direct the pilot for personal reasons. Nutter will remain as EP on the series, thereby not cutting ties completely. Meanwhile Marcos Siega will step in to direct the first episode. Siega doesn't have as impressive a TV resume as Nutter, but he's no slouch either. Seiga has worked on Netflix's You, The Vampire Diaries and The Passage pilot. Batwoman is still in very good hands even if Nutter isn't in the directing chair. Even though Nutter did direct Arrow and The Flash's pilots, he wasn't involved with Supergirl or Legends of Tomorrow, both of which still made it to air.
The more interesting bit of news is Scott's casting as Jacob Kane. For starters Batwoman will mark Scott's official entrance into the superhero (or superhero-adjacent) canon of actors. Scott was infamously originally cast as Wolverine in 2000's X-Men. Yet Scott was recast and Hugh Jackman took the role for nearly the next two decades. Jacob Kane is no where near as famous as the angriest X-Man, but it does seem like Batwoman will be putting Scott's character in a very interesting situation.
In the comics Jacob Kane is primarily Batwoman's confidant and companion. To compare him to the classic Batman mythos, Jacob Kane fills the Alfred Pennyworth role for Batwoman, being Kate's father figure and mentor. Yet Jacob and Kate's relationship is also rather rocky. Jacob constantly, especially in modern Batwoman comics, pushes Kate to treat her job as Batwoman as more of a military role. He even once tried to get her to join the government as Batwoman and turn against her cousin (and his own nephew) Batman. The TV series appears like it'll subvert Kate and Jacob's partnership, at least initially, by having Jacob be at odds with his daughter's vigilante life. Yet it would seem inevitable that Jacob will eventually learn his daughter's secret and lend her a (maybe) reluctant hand.
More: Arrow Namedropped A Batman Villain Perfect For Batwoman's TV Show
Source: Deadline