#Batwoman Boss Confirms: Will Kate Kane Die Following Ruby Rose Exit?

Kate Kane may be gone when Batwoman Season 2 gets underway, but we now have some intel on the fate of Ruby Rose’s alter ego. 

Reports have emerged over the last few days, stating that Kate Kane would be killed off to make way for a new character to arrive and take up the mantle. 

Fortunately for fans, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries has shut down those reports, revealing that the character will go misssing. 

Aiming to “clarify any misinformation out there,” Dries on Wednesday made it clear that the character would not be killed. 

Here is the full statement from the showrunner:

As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past fifteen years, I’m well aware of the “Bury Your Gays” trope and I have no interest in participating in it. 

That’s why it’s important to me as the showrunner to clarify any misinformation out there about Kate Kane and recasting Batwoman. 

Like you, I love Kate Kane — she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. 

We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two. 

I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all of our devoted fans, please know that LGBTQ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that. 

Ruby Rose announced her exit in May after a single season in the role, and while it was initially revealed the role would be recast, it was later revealed a new character would enter the fold. 

“She’s likable, messy, a little goofy, and untamed,” reads a leaked casting document for Alex. 

“With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits.”

“Today, reformed and sober, Ryan lives in van with her plant. A girl who would steal milk from an alley cat and could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly disciplined.”

“An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero.”

Dries previously addressed the exit of Rose and what it would mean for the show. 

“To be honest with you, I did consider the ‘soap opera version’ [of recasting] for a hot minute, because selfishly we already had a couple of episodes written, and transition-wise it would be seamless,” she told Julie Plec during an ATX Festival At Home Q&A over the weekend.

“But upon further reflection — and I think [Arrowverse EP] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call — he’s like, ‘I think we should just reboot Batwoman as a different character.’”

In addition to paying “respect to everything that Ruby [Rose] put into the Kate Kane character” during Batwoman Season 1, Dries conceded that “it also helps the audience, because we’re not asking them to address ‘the elephant in the room’” by accepting a new face as the same person.

The showrunner went on to say that Ryan Wilder is “a whole new character who in her past was inspired by Batwoman, so she is going to take on the mantle,” adding that she “is maybe not the right person at the time to be doing it, so that’s what makes it fun.”

What do you think of this news?

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Remember you can watch Batwoman online right here via TV Fanatic. 

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.