Batwoman: What does Ruby Rose’s shock exit mean for the show?

In a shocking turn of events, star Ruby Rose has decided to exit her role as Batwoman following the show’s first season. What’s next for Gotham City?

Big news in Gotham City: Star Ruby Rose will not be returning to her role as Batwoman for the upcoming second season of the popular CW series.

Um..what?

Yes, you read that correctly. While no reason has yet been given for Rose’s abrupt departure – Batwoman just wrapped its shortened first season last week – but Deadline reports rumors that both the actress and the series’ producers were unhappy about the situation, which had apparently grown mutually untenable.

Suffice it to say, this is a fairly unprecedented situation in the CW’s interconnected universe of DC TV shows known as the Arrowverse.

Several of the series have had major stars depart – Emily Bett Rickards eventually left Arrow before its final season, and the rotating core cast of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is a big piece of its appeal – but nothing at all like this. Rose is the titular character after all, and the announcement of her arrival in the Arrowverse was a big deal for both the network and the brand.

According to Deadline, the show is planning to recast Kate Kane, a move that will doubtless prove difficult to imagine for fans of Rose’s prickly yet appealing performance.

I mean, plus side, the show is deep in a storyline that involves people being able to literally swap and/or acquire new faces (don’t ask; it’s complicated). So, that’s at least a convenient narrative loophole through which the sudden appearance of a very different looking Kate Kane could actually work. But Rose’s chemistry with her co-stars, particularly with Rachel Skarsten, who plays her onscreen sister Alice, may prove hard to duplicate.

And, of course, there’s just the shocking nature of the whole thing, which could damage the Batwoman brand going forward. Despite the fact that the series is a decent performer in the ratings – it ranks fourth among the CW’s 2019-2020 slate – it’s difficult not to imagine that losing its lead performer won’t make some people start to wonder if the show is destined for failure.

We’ll have to wait and see how this all shakes out next season – and what sort of casting rumors begin to roll in later this summer.

All episodes of Batwoman are currently available to stream on The CW website.