Batwoman has revealed the first full look at Javicia Leslie’s Batsuit for the second season of The CW superhero show. Leslie has joined the show as new character Ryan Wilder who will become Batwoman after Kate Kane’s disappearance. Her character was created for the show, rather than recasting Kate.
The new suit was designed by Batwoman costume designer Maya Mani and created by Ocean Drive. The suit’s gauntlets and boots have been updated and there’s a new wig that switches from the straight-haired red one to a more natural, curly one with red streaks.
Like Kate’s suit, the new one will not appear right away. Ryan will wear Kate’s original suit at the beginning of her new role as a superheroine, just as Kate had worn Batman’s at the beginning of season one.
“Ryan’s journey starts from a place of ‘What can this Batsuit do for me?’ But it’s not long before she realizes the power of its symbol and what it can do for everyone else in Gotham City,” showrunner Caroline Dries said in a statement. “As Ryan embraces everything that makes her special, she adjusts the suit to fit her physically and figuratively. This meant creating a new body design and new cowl that was undeniably a statement that screamed ‘powerful.’ Maya Mani sent me her drawings and I loved it. The wig was something we never perfected in season one, and Janice Workman crushed it with this new take. Javicia and I saw various prototypes of styles and red ombres, and at one point we were trading our own iPad-doodled versions. Janice translated that into what we are looking at now. When I see it, I smile. It makes me feel inspired.”
Not only will the suit have significant changes compared to the one Kate wore, the character of Ryan is quite different from her predecessor. While Kate comes from a wealthy family and is Bruce Wayne’s cousin, Ryan has a criminal past in which she was a drug runner who lived in her van. This lifestyle has provided her with street level life experience of the city and she sees being Batwoman as a way to fight the system that has held her down.
“I love the fact that Ryan is becoming her own Batwoman – it’s her style, her swag, and her moment! It was an honor to be able to collaborate with Caroline and Maya. I felt it was important that viewers could tell by the silhouette that Batwoman was a Black girl. With the formfitting suit and beautiful Afro, we definitely nailed it,” Leslie said.
“It was important for the new suit to define Javicia’s commanding presence while showcasing her athleticism and allowing her the freedom to express the physical nature of Batwoman, all while looking ultra-cool in the process,” Mani said.
Batwoman recently started production in Vancouver and is set to return in 2021.
