‘Batwoman’ star Javicia Leslie on facing her own brother as the Joker

Things are heating up over at Batwoman on the CW.

Batwoman Ryan Wilder, played by Javicia Leslie, finally comes face to face with her half-brother Marquis Jet (Nick Creegan). Just like their shared mother, Jet is devilishly good at manipulating people and getting massive amounts of money.

In fact, Marquis is the new CEO over at Wayne Enterprises on the show, and Ryan finds herself suddenly without a job. At first, the two siblings sort of get along, but Ryan soon learns that Marquis is not what he seems.

Leslie recently opened up about what it felt like to play opposite a bad guy with her flesh and blood.

“I think this is … the dilemma of many heroes when the foe is a friend or family, you know? You have to figure out how to stop them, obviously, because you have to protect the world,” Javicia told Distractify. “But also, how do you protect them from themselves?”

That particular character dynamic is something for upcoming episodes of the show to explore on a deeper level.

“Ryan really does go on this journey of trying to get back a brother while also trying to protect (him),” Leslie said.

While the jury’s still out onto whether Batwoman will come back for a season 4, Leslie said there’s so much more she wants to do, especially in terms of working with one villain in particular.

“I feel like it’s this never-ending bowl of characters and villains that we have access to. And so, of course, I would love a good little Catwoman moment. That would be freaking cool,” Leslie said.

Marquis’ origin story involves meeting Jack Napier during a hijacking and getting electrocuted by the then Joker. The injury causes irreversible brain damage and turns Marquis into a sociopathic criminal. Marquis murders his own father, and his (and Ryan’s) mother tries her best to cure him but to no avail.

Marquis follows in Napier’s footsteps and calls himself Jack after his predecessor. So Ryan must not only save her brother but save Gotham as well. It’s a tall order, especially since Marquis doesn’t want any help.

In a recent interview, Creegan said he had no idea he was auditioning for the part of Joker when he was trying out for the role.

I thought it was just [auditioning for] Marquis Jet, this sexy playboy who was arrogant and he gets everything he needs from his mother. Funny enough, I wore a purple shirt in my audition. Two weeks before I flew out to Vancouver [where Batwoman films], I had a FaceTime meeting with [showrunner] Caroline Dries, and she was like, ‘Hey, Nick… There’s really no other way to say this, but you become the new Joker.’ My face was frozen, and my jaw literally dropped. I was immediately shocked, excited, scared, intimidated. I had all of the feelings all at once. So I knew right before I flew out to Vancouver to start shooting.

Batwoman will return from its mid-season hiatus on Jan. 12 at 9 pm EST.