Bollywood: Arrowverse's New Batwoman Actress: Who Is Javicia Leslie?

Who is Javicia Leslie, aka the new star of Batwoman? The first season of Batwoman had barely finished before Ruby Rose announced her departure, the most dramatic casting shake-up in the history of the Arrowverse to date. Viewers initially assumed the character of Kate Kane would be recast - joining a long list of characters who've been replaced in the franchise - but soon learned that wouldn't be the case.

Batwoman 2.0 will be a brand new character, identified as "Ryan Wilder," a former drug-runner who masks her pain with bad habits. According to the official description, Ryan Wilder will be the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. After weeks of speculation, The CW has confirmed the part will be played by Javicia Leslie, a young actress who is making her superhero debut as the next member of the Bat-family. But who is she really?

Javicia Leslie was born in Augsburg, Germany, but grew up in Maryland. She did a little bit of work in Maryland - mostly commercials, directing a play, and hosting a live music show - but she decided she wanted more from life. So Leslie moved to Los Angeles in 2012, and within a few years she'd landed her first guest star role on MacGyver, and in 2017 she played a lead role in The Family Business, a film based on the book by New York Times best-selling author Carl Weber. Fortune struck in 2018 when Leslie picked up major roles in both God Friended Me and Family Business, which required her to demonstrate her work ethic by filming shows in Los Angeles and New York almost simultaneously.

And during her time in Los Angeles, Leslie had settled down and started a family. As a result, she initially found her time in New York to be lonely, especially since she was somewhat in awe of her colleagues on God Friended Me. Things calmed down in her second year on the show, however, and she learned to appreciate the city. In interviews Leslie credited a large part of her change in attitude to the real friendships she'd built with her fellow cast.

Leslie has something of a reputation for her physical acumen, and her partner is a personal trainer who has been giving her a lot of home workouts during the lockdown; she's also been training in Muay Thai, a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with clinching techniques. With the benefit of hindsight, this looks like good training for the starring role she's now been cast for; the next Batwoman. "I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television," Leslie announced in an official statement, "and as a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community." Leslie considers herself deeply spiritual, and in an interview with Afterbuzz TV she stressed her philosophy of speaking truth and success over herself.

"The universe doesn’t understand the filler words, right?... Take out those filler words and just say what the action is. You know, I AM, I AM. And everyday that I wake up, I listen to affirmations that remind me and continue to direct my spirit and my energy towards what I am, and that’s it…I am connected to the universe. I am grounded. I am a Muay Thai master. I am a talk show host. I am a successful action actress. I am. You know what I mean? I am a series regular. I am a feature film, major studio actress. I am loved. You know what I mean? I AM LOVE. It’s just a constant, um, speaking that into my energy and my spirit and I walk with that and I feel it. My, my, subconscious believes it because it is IT, and because I’m constantly saying that I am."

She can now add to this list: "I am Batwoman." It's unclear how her character will be received when Batwoman season 2 begins nor how Ryan Wilder will even become the new Batwoman, but it'll certainly be an interesting story to watch.

More: Batwoman Replacing Kate Kane Is A Major Loss For Supergirl

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July 09, 2020 at 05:46AM

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