Season 2 of Batwoman swoops onto Showmax this month, with Javicia Leslie (God Friended Me) making history as the first Black actor to play the iconic heroine in a live-action series.
When season 1 Batwoman, billionaire Kate Kane, goes missing in action (following actor Ruby Rose's exit due to a back injury), homeless ex-con Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) stumbles upon the batsuit and, with it, a chance to rise above the system that has kept her powerless all her life.
Apart from being a lesbian, Javicia's rogue Batwoman is nothing like her predecessor. A scrappy vigilante, Ryan is sassy, agile, raw, fallible and even goofy. She's not your stereotypical all-American hero, but she could be exactly what Gotham needs...
WATCH THE SEASON 2 TRAILER HERE:
Nominated for Best Superhero Adaptation by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films earlier this year, Batwoman also picked up nominations at the 2020 GLAAD Media Awards and the Queerties. Season 2 has an 89% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus says it maintains "the show's excellence while giving Javicia Leslie plenty of room to spread her wings."
We caught up with Javicia to find out more about her groundbreaking role:
What was your first thought when you heard you'd got the part?
In our industry, we're more used to hearing the word 'no' than the word 'yes', so that's what I was expecting. To hear 'yes', it took me for a loop. It took me a second to react. When I finally reacted, of course, I started crying. But then, a few hours later, I opened up my phone, and I'm reading the trades, and that's when it dawned on me because the first thing I saw was 'Javicia Leslie, the first Black woman, the first Black actor to play Batwoman.' When I was auditioning for it, it never really... went through my head, [except] in a negative way, like, 'They're not going to cast a Black woman.' So, when I saw that in the articles, I realised this was way bigger [than me]. And at the time, with so much going on with my people, I felt like it was something that we needed. It was a boost that we all needed to feel.
I grew up watching Batman, and I know how I would get lost in that world, and just to be able to bring some of that entertainment and some of that joy through our lens, it's really important. I'm really honoured to be a part of that.
What does it mean to be a Black superhero in 2021?
I think Chadwick [Boseman, the star of Black Panther] really opened up a door for us as artists, especially artists in the superhero genre. Something I live by is that I believe God blesses us with our passions to find our purposes. Chadwick's purpose was fulfilled through his art. He was using his art as activism. And it allowed roles like Batwoman to be filled by a Black artist, knowing that there is an audience for that. I think Black Panther showed that there is an audience for Black superheroes. So I really just pray that a part of my purpose is to use my passion to also [set] the stage for someone else to tell their story as a Black superhero or as a Black artist in general.
What's helped you face the challenges getting to this point?
I think a lot of it has to do with my faith. I feel like I am where I'm supposed to be. It took a lot for me to be able to trust that, for me to be able to trust my journey, that God has me. If I would have gotten those roles, and they would have said yes, I wouldn't be where I am right now. So to every 'no', for every closed door, it's really the beginning of a beautiful opening: you have to have faith that it's there.
I had to have faith, and I had to know that there's a bigger picture, and I'm so happy I held on. If there's any advice I'd give any aspiring anything, anything you want to do, you can't stop, you can't listen to the naysayers, you can't listen to the 'nos'.
How do you deal with the hearing 'no'?
That should be what fuels your tank, what fuels you to go harder, to want to build on your craft and your talent. Because at a certain point, you can't tell me no, because I know I have everything inside of me and I am equipped with everything that I need to get this job done. So if you're saying no, then it's time for me to create my own opportunity... We are equipped with everything we need to create our own yesses.
What challenges did you face in taking on this role?
To be completely transparent, when everything first started, and we started filming, it was like a fast-moving vehicle, and I didn't really have time to react to a lot of stuff because I didn't know how to be a superhero. I remember, the first time I put the suit on, I was just like, 'How do I hold my hands?'. I didn't understand the concept of any of it. So, while Ryan is learning to be Batwoman, Javicia is learning to be a superhero. And it was really scary, and I didn't know: was I doing it right, you know? And I could try to emulate other people but it wasn't natural for me because I knew I had to find this on my own.
You also faced vicious online trolling...
In between scenes, if there was a long period of time, I'd get on Instagram. I remember one day, I got on Instagram, and I read comments that were just... they were breaking me. I'm a pretty tough cookie. I've been through a lot. But to see people say such nasty things, and they haven't even seen the show yet -- this is how I knew that this had nothing to do with the dislike of a character. You've never even seen the character. This was all about the idea that this character should be played by a white woman, and 'What do you mean she's Black? Batwoman can't be Black.'
The comments just got nastier and nastier, and I would block people but they would find a way to get to me. So I had read some really disgusting comments, and I went back on set to shoot my last take of the day, and [afterwards], I got to my trailer, and I just started crying. I couldn't stop crying. I was just like, 'It's not fair to have something that's so beautiful in my life... have this shadow on it.' This is life-changing for me, and it's so important to so many people, and there are these people in this world that want to take that away from us.
How did you get past it?
One thing that really reminded me and re-grounded me was when I first was cast, there was this little girl that had told her dad, 'Oh my God, dad, Batwoman looks like me!'. And it just reminded me, this has nothing to do with me. God has brought me so far. I can't let these devils take His glory, take the work He's done. This is what I prayed for, and He's given it to me. And now it's my job to do what my purpose is. I won't allow anyone to take that from me, and I won't allow anyone to take it from the people that I represent.
I turned off Instagram; I turned off the TV; I turned off everything for a few weeks and just regrounded myself. I reminded myself of my purpose and of my artistry, and I got back into the world and I felt protected, I felt supported, I felt safe, because I took that time for myself.
I was running really thin. I didn't have a lot left in my tank because I was giving everything, and then to allow myself to go and be attacked that way -- I allowed that, because I opened myself to it -- I had to really take the time and heal. It was important that I heal because that way I could really give Ryan the service that she deserved. But it's definitely a journey, and I feel very empowered by my people.
What are your hopes for 2021? What are you demanding more of?
I'm demanding changing the definition of normalcy and what we think is normal, what we define as normal. Representation is so important, especially in under-represented communities.
And when you're representing us, represent us in all shapes, sizes, and colours and shades. I'm ready to see some more chocolate leads, chocolate female leads. I'm ready to see more love stories with dark-skinned Black women. We don't get that enough. I look at Issa Rae, and I'm like, 'That should be way more common.' It's not to throw shade towards any other complexion in our beautiful array of complexions that we have as Black women; I just feel like I want to see more of it because it empowers so many individuals that feel powerless in the world where they don't see themselves.
And they don't see themselves as beautiful, because this country [America] specifically has told us that we weren't, has told us that our complexion doesn't represent beauty, our hair doesn't represent beauty - which is funny because they're out there trying to get our hair and get our complexion and get our butts, trying to get our sizes and our shapes. You take it from us, but then you tell us it's not beautiful.
At the end of the day, life imitates art. To know that it's possible is to see it; to see it is to believe it. And you need to start seeing more of it.