During a WonderCon@Home panel on Saturday, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries appeared with five of the series’ stars, to tease what’s to come in the rest of Season 2.
In conversation with TVLine’s Keishca Hatchett, Dries first discussed the recent reappearance of vigilante Kate Kane. Leading the cast as Kane in Season 1, Ruby Rose then exited from the CW series. Actress Wallis Day was recently named as her replacement—and will portray an “altered” version of the character. While Batwoman‘s audience has already been made aware that Kane is, in fact, alive, drama will assuredly ensue when the news finally reaches the show’s characters.
“There’s this tragic irony happening, where our characters have been looking for Kate desperately, and now they believe she’s dead, and so as they’re moving on with their lives, the audience is privy to this huge piece of information that Kate’s actually alive. So moving forward, Kate’s in for a bumpy road,” said Dries. “That’s all I’ll tease, and our characters, of course, are eventually going to be looped into this huge piece of news. But it’s pure drama from here on out, and it’s going to affect every character directly, just the way her disappearance affected every character differently.”
Appearing alongside Dries, and his co-stars Javicia Leslie, Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy and Nicole Kong was Camrus Johnson. The actor, who portrays Luke Fox, teased an exciting guest star soon to make an appearance on the show. “There is one more guest star that Luke has a connection to—that’s all I can say—that I’m super excited about,” he said. “We talked about it way in the beginning of the season. I didn’t know when it was going to come, and if you like Julia Pennyworth, which is really the only guest star so far that’s been connected to Luke, I think people are really going to like the next one.”
Starring since the beginning of this season as Ryan Wilder—the vigilante who took on the Batwoman mantle, in the absence of Kane—Leslie reflected on the complicated relationship between Ryan and Angelique (Bevan Bru). Is there a world, Hatchett wondered, where the pair could come back together? “I don’t think that’s a story that will ever really be done because Ryan doesn’t really have any anchor to her childhood. Her one anchor was her adopted mama, and she died, and her only other anchor is Angelique,” Leslie said. “So I think there will always be empathy for that relationship and for each other’s dynamics. But I think more than anything, Ryan is in a place where she wants to do better. She was never really the bad person, but she wants to make sure that she takes advantage of this opportunity, and she moves forward in her life.”
Subsequently, the actress addressed the idea that there may be other romantic prospects for Wilder to explore, either down the line or in the near future. “I’m here for whatever the writers create. [But] I think we’re in this weird space right now with the pandemic where we’re limited with how much we can play in that world, honestly,” Leslie said. “I know that probably affected the storylines, when it comes to being able to switch out romantic characters.”
Prior to engaging in Batwomantrivia with the cast, Dries teased a showdown to come between Leslie’s Batwoman and the show’s new baddie, Black Mask. (It was just recently announced that Peter Outerbridge will play the part). After ensnaring Angelique in his criminal enterprises, Batwoman will have to face down a difficult scenario. “How does she ease her friend out of his horrific situation?” the EP wondered. “She becomes sort of Enemy #1 to Black Mask.”
Produced by Berlanti Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television, Batwoman returns for its ninth episode of Season 2 on Sunday. The superhero drama has already been renewed for a third season.
Check out today’s panel with the show’s EP and stars above.