Ruby Rose has elaborated on the reasons behind her shock exit from Batwoman after just one season in the role. The actress spoke at length to EW about the factors that led to her decision, indicating that the combination of a serious back injury, the pandemic and the demands of being a lead created a perfect storm.
“Being the lead of a superhero show is tough. Being the lead in anything is tough. But I think, in that particular instance, it was a lot more difficult because I was still recovering from my surgery. I had my surgery and then 10 days later I went to work, which maybe wasn’t the best idea. Most people take about a month or three off before they return to work, so it was definitely made more difficult by that. But as far as being a lead of a show or a film — regardless if it’s action or if it’s emotional — in whichever ways it’s taxing.”
Despite those difficulties, Rose emphasized that she was proud of her time on the show, saying:
“The challenge is sort of outweighed. The accomplishment and the trust that people put in you to do that role and then there’s also the vibrancy of being able to come on set and set the mood and the tone and the trust being put into it is something that’s been such an honor. And I love my experience in [Batwoman]. I’m so grateful that we got to achieve everything that we did and I’m proud of everyone that worked on it. I’m proud of myself for working under sort of interesting circumstances, you know, with the recovery and all. I would definitely do [TV] again. I just think that it was also time for me to take a break to fully heal and then return.”
Ultimately, it appears the pandemic inadvertently gave Rose the clarity to conclude it was the right time for her to leave, as the actress explained:
“It wasn’t so much [the injury], especially because after we wrapped up we didn’t get to finish the real finale because of COVID. You know, you have time in quarantine and sort of isolation to just think about a lot of different things and what you want to achieve in life and what you want to do. I think for both [me and the producers], it was a great opportunity to have a dialogue about a lot of things. I respect them so much and they’ve been so respectful to me.”
It’s a shame her time on Batwoman had to end so abruptly. As she mentions, season 1 never even got to film its final episode as a result of the pandemic’s disruption. That said, it looks like the show’s future is in safe hands. Just over a month ago, Rose’s successor in the cowl was announced, with God Friended Me star Javicia Leslie joining as Ryan Wilder, a new Batwoman to follow in the footsteps of Rose’s Kate Kane.
There’s long been a precedent of characters taking on a superhero’s mantle, though in this case, the changeover will be unavoidably jarring. We’ll get to see exactly how the writers handle it though when season 2 airs in 2021.
Any thoughts of your own on Rose’s comments are always welcome in the comments section. Hopefully this gives those Batwoman fans who were left blindsided by the announcement the closure they were looking for. It sure looked out of the blue from the outside looking in (as it often does).