Black women are superheroes in real life and now we’re getting to play them on the silver screen. The CW announced their new Batwoman is a Black woman. Javicia Leslie will don the iconic bat suit and cape as the new series lead.
“I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show,” said Leslie to Variety. She previously starred in the CBS series God Friended Me.
The German-born actress took to Instagram to celebrate the new gig with an inspiring message that reminds young girls to never stop dreaming.
“For all of the little Black girls dreaming to be a superhero one day… it’s possible!” she wrote.
For all of the little black girls dreaming to be a superhero one day… it’s possible!
A post shared by Javicia Leslie (@javicia) on Jul 8, 2020 at 3:55pm PDT
Ruby Rose, who played Batwoman in season one of Batwoman, also took to social media to congratulate Leslie on the role.
“OMG!! This is amazing!! I am so glad Batwoman will be played by an amazing Black woman. 
I want to congratulate Javicia Leslie on taking over the bat cape. You are walking into an amazing cast and crew. I can’t wait to watch season 2 you are going to be amazing!!” she captioned a photo of Leslie on Instagram.
A post shared by Ruby Rose (@rubyrose) on Jul 8, 2020 at 3:35pm PDT
The announcement comes on the heels of news Janelle Monáe is interested in flexing her #BlackGirlmagic as “Storm” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With a blank canvas as the MCU moves into phase 4 – it isn’t that far-fetched of an idea.
“I definitely have thrown it out there,” Monáe told EmpireOnline.com. “One of my dreams has always been to play Storm. I don’t know if she comes in Black Panther, but it would be a dream to have her in it. I don’t know where they are with that. A lot of women have played Storm and they’ve done an exceptional job, and I would love to be in that line of artists and get to do Storm justice.”
Halle Berry originally played Storm in the first four X-Men films and made history as one of the few actors to appear in both Marvel and DC. Halle paved the way for Leslie, now is Leslie paving the way for Monáe?
The post Batwoman Is A Black Woman, Javicia Leslie Cast As The CW Lead appeared first on Essence.
