How Wallis Day Really Feels About Being Batwoman's New Kate Kane
Fans of the CW series "Batwoman" received a major surprise at the end of the show's first season, when it was revealed that star Ruby Rose would be exiting the series. Her departure left big shoes to fill, as Rose played the titular Batwoman, as well as her alter ego Kate Kane, who takes on the mantle after returning to Gotham to discover that her missing cousin Bruce Wayne was Batman.
While the series soon found a new lead character in Ryan Wilder, played by Javicia Leslie, who took on the mantle of Batwoman, it turns out that the writers were not done telling the story of Kate Kane. Soon enough, "Krypton" actress Wallis Day took on the role alongside Leslie's Ryan Wilder, making her first appearance in the second season's eighth episode, titled "Survived Much Worse." With the show's second season finale, in which Kate plays a key role, now having aired, Day spoke about how she really feels about being the new Kate Kane on "Batwoman."
Wallis Day created her version of the character from scratch
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Wallis Day spoke about the process of taking on the role of Kate Kane. She said that "Batwoman" showrunner Caroline Dries gave her free rein on the character, which led Day to the scripts that were written for Kate rather than Ruby Rose's performance in the role. This allowed her to build her version of the character from scratch.
"That was another conversation that Caroline and I had. I asked her, 'Do you want me to have any similar traits to the actress that portrayed Kate before me, or do you want me to just interpret Kate as I would naturally?' Since I had already watched season one, Caroline just said, 'No, make Kate your own.," Day said in the interview. "So I asked for all the scripts, and then I went back to the beginning to analyze Kate. I almost erased what I'd seen of Kate on screen because I analyzed Kate from the words on the page and how I would naturally bring them to life as a character. "
Day also praised Ruby Rose
However, Wallis Day did praise Ruby Rose's work as Kate Kane in Season 1 of "Batwoman," as well, clarifying that her decision to remake the character was not based in any animosity towards Rose's prior work with the character.
"Kudos to the last actress because, to a certain extent, we found some similarities in Kate's attributes, for sure." Day elaborated, "But for me to understand the character and make her more three-dimensional, it was more than just pulling from the character's description; it was also her nuances and actions."
Day went on to add "It was really important for me to not just go on what had been screened in terms of chemistry and relationships, but what had actually been written. And when I went back and explored the relationships that Kate had with the other characters, I could then understand that dynamic and interpret it in my way."
Day also confirmed that there is a possibility that she can return to the series to play Kate Kane in subsequent seasons. Whether that comes to pass will be seen when Season 3 of "Batwoman" premieres in October.