After only three seasons, The CW’s Batwoman won’t be returning on-screen with a season 4. The now-canceled show had initially joined the Arrowverse lineup back in 2019. In the first season, we saw Ruby Rose playing the role of Batwoman in this series. However, after the end of the first season, Rose decided to exit to show, something that has never occurred before with any Arrowverse leads. Shortly after Rose’s departure, the showrunners roped in Javicia Leslie into the series in the title role. She was to take on the part of Ryan Wilder. Wilder was an original character written for the show and later made her debut in the DC Comics.

Javicia Leslie’s new character, Ryan Wilder, did do some damage control for the show as she breathed a whole new life into it after Rose’s exit. The writers did a good job of creating an entirely new character, connecting her character naturally to the show with an already established cast, and changing the whole direction of the storyline on such short notice, including changing the storyline of the other supporting characters. We even saw Leslie’s character in a crossover episode of The Flash during “Armageddon,” a five-episode special event in the fall of 2021.

However, the show was in deep waters the moment Ruby Rose’s exit was announced, and unfortunately, the series’ future wasn’t meant to be.

Caroline Dries, Batwoman’s showrunner, announced on April 29, 2022, that the show had been officially canceled after the third season. The show’s cast, including Javicia Leslie, Camrus Johnson, and Meagan Tandy, took to social media to express how disappointed they were about the show’s sudden cancelation and how thankful they were to get a chance to work on it for how long they could.

However, why was the show canceled after such a short run of three seasons? Let’s find out.

Will Gotham Knights Replace Batwoman?

If you do a deep analysis into the Arrowverse, its future has been in limbo for a while now. With shows like the Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman coming to an end now, the Arrowverse has only four shows left on its list, including Superman & Lois, Stargirl, Naomi, and The Flash.

Related: Batwoman’s Javicia Leslie Hasn’t Ruled Out Arrowverse Return

Moreover, it may have also been the show’s ratings that may have caused its cancelation. The series saw a reduction of almost 20% from its second season. The Arrowverse series have performed far better than other CW shows like Nancy Drew and Riverdale, and both of these shows were renewed. Furthermore, when Supergirl and Arrow were canceled, the announcements came far in advance, allowing the series ample time to conclude the show naturally.

Another reason why Batwoman was so abruptly canceled may have been due to the uncertain future of the network itself.

According to a Deadline report, ViacomCBS and WB, co-owners of the CW network, have been considering selling it off. This suggests that the network’s decision to cancel Batwoman (and Legends of Tomorrow) may not have been in the hands of Mark Pedowitz, CW President. There have also been more reports suggesting that Nexstar is considering purchasing a huge stake in the network, as reported by Variety.

With so much uncertainty behind the scenes for the network and the poor ratings after the second season, it comes as no surprise that Batwoman, a high-budgeted superhero series, ended up getting canceled.

Related: Batwoman Star Javicia Leslie Reacts to Fans’ Billboard Campaign to Save the Series

It also does not help that The CW recently ordered a pretty similar show to Batwoman called Gotham Knights. Though this new series is supposedly set up in a near-future version of Gotham City, it’s quite likely that there would have been many characters and settings used across the two shows overlapping. That said, there is always a possibility that the network may not go ahead with Gotham Knights if the pilot episode is not picked up soon. For Batwoman fans, this would be even more disappointing news.

What Would We Have Seen in Batwoman Season 4?

Before Batwoman’s cancelation was officially announced, Caroline Dries teased that Ryan’s growing family would likely be the highlight of the upcoming season. “[Ryan reuniting with her biological family] was more important to us… Ryan having a biological family, in my opinion, enriches her character and widens her world,” said Dries before hinting that Ryan’s biological father would also be a part of the storyline.

In a conversation with Digital Spy, Nick Creegan, the actor who played Joker on the series, shared his hope for the upcoming season:

“What I’m hoping for is that Marquis is going to manipulate everyone to think that that joy buzzer worked, and he’ll just start wreaking havoc again… Alice and Marquis both come back and see each other, and they both become insane again together, but maybe even more crazy.”

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