Comic book fans have taken to social media to share their first impressions of CW's new Batwoman series, starring Aussie actress Ruby Rose and, it turns out, political journalist and presenter Rachel Maddow.
Maddow voices the character of Vesper Fairchild, who, in the DC Comics series, is a TV and radio personality romantically linked to Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Maddow shared her surprise casting on social media last week, tweeting: "I know no one's going to believe this is true, but it's true."
She added: "I'm 'Vesper Fairchild' in the new Batwoman TV show that starts this Sunday night on The CW."
Maddow explained that while her character is "soooo not me" the experience was "one of the most fun things I've ever done."
As some eagle-eyed fans pointed out, this isn't Maddow's first involvement with the Batwoman universe, having previously written the foreword for the 2010 graphic novel Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams.
“We consider Vesper Fairchild to be the sardonic Voice of Gotham,” Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries said in a statement.
“In addition to Rachel’s interest in Batwoman, we thought she’d be the perfect casting choice because her own hard-hitting journalism wildly contrasts Vesper’s penchant for snark, gossip and criticism of female superheroes.”
Fans of the Batwoman comic books have previously expressed a mixed reaction to Ruby Rose's casting on the show, pointing out that the titular character was written to be lesbian and Jewish, and would have been a good opportunity for a diverse casting choice.
You can watch the trailer for Batwoman below:
