Why did Ruby Rose leave Batwoman?~ 🦇

Rose's statement did not give much information as to her reason for leaving, but there are a number of behind-the-scenes factors that likely influenced her decision.

She wrote in a statement: "I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season. This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles.

"I am beyond appreciative to [executive producers] Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you [Warner Bros. boss] Peter Roth and [CW president] Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success – I am truly grateful."

Rose hit headlines when she was cast in the role due to backlash she received. In August 2018, the actor quit Twitter after receiving negative comments. In a Twitter post before she quit the platform, she wrote: "Where on earth did 'Ruby is not a lesbian therefore she can't be batwoman' come from — has to be the funniest most ridiculous thing I've ever read. I came out at 12? And have for the past 5 years had to deal with 'she's too gay' how do y'all flip it like that?"

She later told Adweek: "I can't have that kind of noise; it doesn't do anything for me as an actor going in. I just care about how I feel when I go to work. If I'm happy, I know I can do it justice and I believe in the project, then I don't think there's anyone that could convince me I don't deserve to be there."

Filming the first season on Batwoman also left Rose with some injuries that may have influenced her decision to go. In September 2019, the actor had to have emergency surgery following a stunt. She wrote on Instagram: "To everyone asking about my new Pez dispenser scar on my neck... A couple of months ago I was told I needed an emergency surgery or I was risking becoming paralyzed. I had herniated two discs doing stunts, and they were close to severing my spinal chord. I was in chronic pain and yet couldn't feel my arms."

Batwoman producers Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television also released their own statement, which confirmed that they would be looking for an LGBTQ+ actor to replace Rose in the role of perhaps the most famous lesbian superhero.

When Rose was ultimately cast in the role August of 2018, it was both incredibly fitting and a bit of a surprise. Some were quick to argue that Rose - who gaining notoriety thanks to projects like Orange Is the New Black, John Wick: Chapter 2, and The Meg - was almost too big for the Arrowverse -- but honestly, that was part of the beauty of it. Not only would a recognizable actress be introducing a beloved character to mainstream audiences, but Rose's involvement in the Arrowverse would be the kind of headline-grabbing way to prove that the franchise as a whole was continuing to creatively grow and innovate.

Rose's casting wasn't completely met with a perfect response - there was some backlash about whether Rose, who identifies as genderqueer, was "lesbian enough" to play Batwoman, while some fans (understandably) were upset that a Jewish actress wasn't cast in the role. But by the time Rose first made her debut in the cape and cowl in the "Elseworlds" crossover, a lot of viewers were ecstatic to see what else she could bring to the character in her solo series. The crossover also established the dynamic chemistry between Rose's Batwoman and Melissa Benoist's Supergirl, a female friendship founded on pure mutual respect and admiration that still feels incredibly scarce in the world of mainstream superhero stories.

While the first portion of Batwoman's first season had a lot of ground to cover - from Kate's origin story, to the events of "Elseworlds", to the immediate lead-up to the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover - Rose's take on Kate evolved right along with that. She showcased the right mix of genuine goodness and inherent swagger, whether while fighting a villain-of-the-week in costume, or trying to rekindle the fragile relationships within her personal life. This was abundantly clear during the five hours of "Crisis" itself, where Kate was able to have a unique rapport with the ensemble of other heroes, while also finding her own footing as the Paragon of Courage and growing her relationship with Kara.

To an extent, Batwoman benefitted from "Crisis on Infinite Earths" unlike none of the other superhero shows, as it allowed the show to find its own comfortable, confident, and genuinely weird footing. Even amid doppelgangers from other universes, homicidal torture doctors, and the end-of-season search for Kryptonite, Rose legitimately came into her own as both sides of Kate's persona. Look no further than the midseason episode "How Queer Is Everything Today", where Batwoman publicly came out as a lesbian after meeting a bullied queer girl, or "A Narrow Escape", where Kate began to experience panic attacks about her role as Gotham's savior after murdering her sister's abuser. Those scenes, and countless others across the show's twenty-episode first season, wouldn't have hit exactly the same without the gravitas and endearing personality Rose brought to the role.

"O, Mouse!", the show's defacto season finale which aired this past Sunday, showcased a lot of the sides of Rose's take on Kate - her awkward humor with her stepsister, Mary (Nicole Kang), her sense of profound duty to stop Gotham's latest villain, and her genuine insecurity about her father's disavowal of Batwoman. Watching that episode, there was a sense that it would be a joy to see Rose play Batwoman for many more years to come. One of the greatest joys of the Arrowverse has been getting to see its actors truly make iconic DC characters their own, both through individual episodes and larger crossovers. Over the course of the past year-and-a-half, Rose's take on Kate Kane has done just that, while also helping legitimize Batwoman in the eyes of mainstream viewers.

Berlanti Productions and The CW, who help produce Batwoman, have made it abundantly clear that they will be looking for a new queer actress to portray Kate Kane, and are expected to announce the replacement in the months to come. While there's no doubt the new actress will bring a captivating, entertaining take on Batwoman, we can't help but mourn the loss of Rose's tenure as the character -- and how it could have only grown in the years to come.

source: Newsweek, comic book, TVLine