Black bisexual Batwoman actor Javicia Leslie stuns in first look at brand new Batsuit
Javicia Leslie stars in the new season of Batwoman. (The CW/ Nino Muñoz)
The first pictures of Black bisexual Batwoman actor Javicia Leslie in her brand new Batsuit have been revealed.
Trailblazing actor Javicia Leslie bagged the role after actor Ruby Rose left The CW series after just one season, and she is set to become the first-ever Black Batwoman.
Leslie will play lesbian Ryan Wilder, the superhero’s new alter-ego, who begins the series living in her van and who takes over the iconic bat cape from billionaire Kate Kane.
According to The CW, while Wilder will at first wear the same suit as Kane, she soon grows into her new role and unveils a re-designed, unique Batsuit in the third episode.
The new suit was conceptualised by Batwoman costume designer Maya Mani and created by Ocean Drive Leather, while her wig created by Janice Workman and her makeup was styled by Cory Roberts.
The suit features a new cowl, red gauntlets over the forearms, shorter boots, and Wilder has red streaks in her natural, curly hair.
(Nino Muñoz/The CW)
Leslie collaborated with with Mani and executive producer Caroline Dries to design the look, and said: “I love the fact that Ryan is becoming her own Batwoman – it’s her style, her swag, and her moment!
“It was an honour 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!”
(Nino Muñoz/The CW)
Dries said of the new Batwoman look: “Ryan’s journey starts from a place of, ‘What can this Batsuit do for me?’ 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’. Maya Mani sent me her drawings and I loved it.
“The wig was something we never perfected in season one, and Janice Workman crushed it with this new take. Javicia and I saw various prototypes of styles and red ombres, and at one point we were trading our own iPad-doodled versions.
“Janice translated that into what we are looking at now. When I see it, I smile. It makes me feel inspired.”
