We’ve already seen some set photos taken from a distance which gave us a decent glimpse at it, but now The CW has unveiled our first proper look at Javicia Leslie’s superhero suit in Batwoman season 2. The God Friended Me actress is taking over as the new lead of the DC TV series following Ruby Rose leaving the role of Kate Kane behind. In her place, Leslie will play Ryan Wilder, a streetwise young woman who inherits the cape and cowl, and she’s going to be making a few changes to the Bat-wardrobe.
As you can see in the two stylish promo images in the gallery below, Ryan Wilder’s Batwoman will wear a modified version of Kate Kane’s costume. Some notable changes are the red gauntlets on her forearms, shorter boots, an altered cowl and a new wig. Wilder will ditch Kate’s bright red wig for a brunette curly one with red streaks that better reflects her natural hair.
This new Batwoman suit was conceptualized by costume designer Maya Mani and created by Ocean Drive Leather. Meanwhile, the wig was crafted by Janice Workman and the makeup styled by Cory Roberts. Showrunner Caroline Dries teased how the change in uniform fits into the storyline in a statement that went along with these new images, saying:
“Ryan’s journey starts from a place of ‘What can this Batsuit do for me?’” said Dries. “But it’s not long before she realizes the power of its symbol and what it can do for everyone else in Gotham City. 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.’”
Leslie herself gushed about how pleased she is with how her Batsuit has turned out in her own statement, in which she revealed the big contribution she made to its look, explaining:
“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 form-fitting suit and beautiful Afro, we definitely nailed it!”
We know that Ryan will start out wearing the costume she inherited from Kate before she gets Luke to redo it especially for her, much like how Kate did the same with Batman’s outfit in season 1. But a new Batsuit is not the only addition that Ryan is making to the mantle now that she’s taken over. While Kate liked to get about Gotham City on foot, Ryan’s got herself a revamped Batmobile, as revealed in set pics and videos.
Batwoman season 2 is currently shooting and premieres on The CW in January 2021.