Batwoman Season 2: Shivaani Ghai set to play villain Safiyah

Batwoman Season 2 has found a new villain.

It looks like Batwoman Season 2 on The CW is expanding its coterie of villains—Shivaani Ghai will be taking on the role of Safiyah Sohail, Deadline reported.

Near the end of the opening season of Batwoman, Safiyah was mentioned as a possible threat to Team-Batwoman and to Gotham—even antagonist Alice (Rachel Skarsten) was afraid of crossing paths with her.

But Safiyah had largely been mentioned in hushed tones or spoken to over a phone but she is clearly going to have a larger role in Batwoman Season 2. It looks like Alice and Gotham have something to be afraid of in upcoming episodes.

Ghai is the latest British actor to join The CWverse. She has had roles in film and TV, including on Dominion, The Catch, and London Has Fallen, and will be crossing the pond to give Safiyah life on the show.

On Twitter, Ghai shared her excitement at being able to share the news, and will likely be heading to Vancouver, British Columbia soon, to start shooting the second instalment.

Despite the pandemic, it looks like the next season has already started filming—Meagan Tandy, who plays Sophie Moore, has been posting hints about returning to her character soon and Supernatural finished shooting its final season in the same location.

Batwoman Season 2: What can we expect to see?

The official character description for Safiyah defines what kind of villain she is set to be—a beloved ruler on a small island, Safiyah is powerful, compassionate, and ruthless, and isn’t afraid of making enemies. That’s a Gotham villain, if ever we’ve heard of one!

Ghai isn’t the only newbie to be joining Batwoman Season 2—Javicia Leslie will be donning the cape and cowl as Ryan Wilder, a new character written for the show, who will take on the mantle of Batwoman.

Showrunner Caroline Dries has already revealed that Kate Kane, the first Batwoman, will have gone missing at the start of the second season.

Wilder and Team-Batwoman will work together to solve the mystery of her disappearance while still protecting Gotham from old and new threats, like Alice and Safiyah, as well as the return of Bruce Wayne, who is actually Tommy Elliot (Gabriel Mann) in disguise.

With Leslie and Ghai joining Batwoman Season 2, the diversity of the series has increased even more than what was on show in the first season.

However, while it is great to have a Black woman in the lead, the show has yet to address the whitewashing of Julia Pennyworth, who in the comics is a biracial character.

With Pennyworth set to play a larger role next season—seeing as she was the one in contact with Safiyah in the opening season—this casting should have been acknowledged, if not rectified.

Aside from the Pennyworth casting, the debut season of Batwoman was a success, bringing queer characters and lived experiences to the fore. Kate Kane was a huge draw, but the secondary characters more than held their own, building a believable Gotham for audiences.

It certainly looks like Batwoman Season 2 is set to bring even more of what fans loved from the first instalment.

What are you looking forward to seeing in the Batwoman Season 2? Tell us in the comments below.

Batwoman Season 2 will air on The CW in 2021.