<p>A Black woman will star in the television series <em>Batwoman</em>, a first for the superhero in live-action television or film, the CW network said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Javicia Leslie, who is also bisexual, will take on the cape and cowl for the CW television show when it returns for its second season in January.</p>.<p>Leslie replaces Australian actress and model Ruby Rose, who was the first openly lesbian lead superhero on US television.</p>.<p>"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 honoured to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Leslie in a statement.</p>.<p>Leslie's Batwoman will be nothing like her predecessor. The character, described by the network as "likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed," spent her life as a drug runner and now lives in a van.</p>.<p>Her casting follows efforts by Hollywood in recent years to diversify the portrayal of comic book superheroes.</p>.<p><em>The Eternals</em> movie, due out in February 2021, will debut the Marvel film franchise's first gay superhero along with actor Kumail Nanjiani as the first Pakistani superhero in a mainstream Hollywood movie. In 2018, Nicole Maines, a transgender woman, filled the first transgender superhero role on television in the CW series <em>Supergirl</em>.</p>
<p>A Black woman will star in the television series <em>Batwoman</em>, a first for the superhero in live-action television or film, the CW network said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Javicia Leslie, who is also bisexual, will take on the cape and cowl for the CW television show when it returns for its second season in January.</p>.<p>Leslie replaces Australian actress and model Ruby Rose, who was the first openly lesbian lead superhero on US television.</p>.<p>"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 honoured to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Leslie in a statement.</p>.<p>Leslie's Batwoman will be nothing like her predecessor. The character, described by the network as "likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed," spent her life as a drug runner and now lives in a van.</p>.<p>Her casting follows efforts by Hollywood in recent years to diversify the portrayal of comic book superheroes.</p>.<p><em>The Eternals</em> movie, due out in February 2021, will debut the Marvel film franchise's first gay superhero along with actor Kumail Nanjiani as the first Pakistani superhero in a mainstream Hollywood movie. In 2018, Nicole Maines, a transgender woman, filled the first transgender superhero role on television in the CW series <em>Supergirl</em>.</p>