Another superhero will be joining The CW’s impressive DC lineup: Batwoman. A series starring the character is officially in development, Variety reports, and if it’s picked up, will debut in 2019.
The CW-iteration of Batwoman is already set to be in the annual Arrowverse crossover, where the four DC shows on CW — Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl — combine forces. The Arrowverse has previously mentioned Bruce Wayne and Wayne Tech, teasing a Batman connection. Despite countless live-action interpretations of her male counterpart, this will be Batwoman’s first live-action appearance.
Though a “Bat-Woman” character was present as early as 1956, the current iteration of Batwoman — Kate Kane — was introduced in DC’s 52 series. Her story was solidified under writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams III and unlike the Silver Age Batwoman, who was romantically linked with Batman, the modern Kate Kane is a lesbian. A former army cadet who was booted under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Kate Kane sought a new way to serve justice and found her call as a masked vigilante.
While Batwoman is not the only LGBTQ character in the Batman comics, she’s set important milestones by being the first openly gay DC superhero and proposing to her girlfriend, Gotham City Police Detective Maggie Sawyer, in 2013. She’s one of the highest-profile gay superheroes in comics.
The Batwoman series will be produced and written by Caroline Dries, who has previously worked with the CW on The Vampire Diaries and Melrose Place. Dries also served as a writer on Smallville, the pre-Superman Clark Kent series, so she’s not unfamiliar with DC Entertainment. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, along with Geoff Johns (former head of DC Entertainment), are set to executive produce.