Usually news slows down after a TV show wraps up its latest season, but since Batwoman season 1 ended there’s been a constant stream of shocking updates. It was all started by Ruby Rose announcing she was vacating the title role effective immediately. The CW announced that a new leading actress would be found to replace her and we later learned that this meant a fresh character would be donning the cape and cowl, with Kate Kane being written out entirely.
If possible, this latter news has infuriated fans more than the first announcement. Kate is at the heart of the show, after all, and Batwoman lovers are not convinced that the character can be ditched without completely wrecking the series. As such, they’ve decided to take action, starting up a Change.org petition asking the network to reverse their decision and retain the character of Kate Kane.
It’s still early days for the petition, but the hashtags #SaveKateKane and #KateKaneIsBatwoman are doing the rounds on Twitter, with angry folks listing the various reasons why it’s a dumb move to ditch the heroine.
https://twitter.com/Lex_Luthor_King/status/1269482000966201347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to a casting call, the new Batwoman will be “Ryan Wilder” (possibly a false name), an out Lesbian in her mid-to-late 20s who is “likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed.”
You don’t just make a random character Batwoman by giving her similar traits to Kate Kane. It’s Kate’s story and the life she’s lead that makes her Batwoman. #SaveKateKane #KateKaneIsBatwoman #SaveBatwoman pic.twitter.com/2QlMB4MXU5
— Ro (@rogvortex58) June 7, 2020
Every relationship on the show will be rendered meaningless, many feel.
#KateKaneISBatwoman Do👏Not👏Erase👏Her👏 that will render every single relationship on the show meaningless. Kate Kane is the show. A new Batwoman undercuts the entire premise and characters! @warnerbrostv @gberlanti @carolinedries #Batwoman Jewish Lesbian Kate Kane matters
— SideTableDrawer (@DrawerSide) June 4, 2020
Folks are already getting ready to jump ship.
If @CWBatwoman go ahead with creating a new character and handing her the title of #Batwoman I'm going to need a new show to watch because I will no longer be watching it #KateKaneIsBatwoman
— beth 🏳️🌈 (@dreamsingreen) June 7, 2020
Some are furious over the loss of a rare Jewish superhero on TV.
Same. @CWBatwoman is Kate Kane and #KateKaneIsBatwoman . If they’re gonna continue to disrespect one of the few Jewish heroes we have, then I want nothing from any future content @BatwomanWriters make. https://t.co/2Rwm4lFeEq
— David Markson אבשלום בן אברהם ושרה (@UndyingHunter) June 7, 2020
The worst decision they could make.
https://twitter.com/AgentShtarling/status/1268222560430370821?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Showrunner Caroline Dries has explained why this decision was made. Though some scripts for season 2 had been written prior to Rose’s departure, the EP believed that audiences wouldn’t accept a soap opera-like actor switchover and so elected to introduce a new Batwoman. Fans don’t think this reasoning adds up, though.
We don’t watch this show for the realism. We watch for the incredible relationships that were established between Kate/Sophie, Kate/Mary, Kate/Alice, Kate/Parker, Kate/Jacob, Kate/Julia, Kate/Luke, and oh yeah Batwoman and Gotham. #KateKaneISBatwoman so many excuses to erase her
— WaywardIce (@IceWayward) June 7, 2020
While Dries is right that it would be a pretty soap opera-like move, recasting Kate Kane would also be part of a long-standing superhero movie and TV tradition, too. Audiences accepted Val Kilmer when he took over from Michael Keaton as Batman, for instance, or Don Cheadle when he replaced Terrence Howard as the MCU’s War Machine.
Still, ripping apart all the established relationships on the series by dropping a new protagonist into the mix will be a big hurdle to overcome, and we’ll have to wait until Batwoman season 2 arrives in January 2021 to find out if they manage to make it work.