Javicia Leslie Signs On to Lead BATWOMAN on The CW

God Friended Me star Javicia Leslie has been selected to lead The CW's latest superhero series, Batwoman.

Leslie will portray a new character, Ryan Wilder, who will succeed Kate Kane (played by ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK star Ruby Rose) in the iconic role.

She says of the casting, "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 which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community."

Of her new charatcer Leslie says, "I'm inventing a whole new character who in her past was inspired by Batwoman, so she will take on the mantle and is completely maybe not the right person at the time to be doing it, so that's what makes it fun."

Batwoman made history last fall as the first superhero series to follow the adventures of an out LGBTQ+ character.

Leslie has previously been seen on the BET drama series THE FAMILY Business and the feature film Always a Bridesmaid.