Batwoman could leap onto the CW in a larger capacity than originally expected.
The comic-book character, who’s set to appear in the network’s annual Arrowverse crossover, could be getting her own show on the network’s hero-heavy roster, The Times has confirmed.
A Batwoman series featuring Gotham City vigilante Kate Kane, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter “with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind,” is in early development at the younger-skewing network, according to a CW spokesperson.
The CW has ordered a script-development deal from former Vampire Diaries executive producer Caroline Dries and Arrowverse maestro Greg Berlanti.
Dries, who also wrote for Smallville, has been tapped to write under the auspices of Berlanti Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television.
The original Batwoman went by Kathy Kane, a female counterpart to Batman, and worked with Bat-Girl as her sidekick. She first appeared in Detective Comics #233 in 1956.
She was reintroduced in 2006 and that iteration turned the character into Bruce Wayne’s cousin, Kate Kane, an army brat who was expelled from West Point because of her sexuality.
In May, the inclusion-minded network confirmed that Batwoman will appear in the DC crossover, joining characters from the network’s Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl franchises for the high-profile December episodes.
“This is the first time ever that Batwoman will make a live-action appearance on any screen,” CW president Mark Pedowitz said at the network’s upfronts, adding that Gotham City will also be added to the sprawling Arrowverse.
A casting notice for the character will go out soon, the CW said, and the woman cast for the crossover will likely play the central character if the series goes to pilot.
