The seemingly never-ending roster of DC characters coming to the CW just added a classic one. Poison Ivy, the iconic villain who has been known to make Batman’s life a living hell, is coming to Gotham City on the small screen. Actress Bridget Regan will play the role on the upcoming third season of Batwoman, which is set to kick off later this fall.
Deadline broke the news of the casting, which was teased in the season two finale earlier this summer and will reportedly be a recurring role. Regan will play Pamela Isley, a former botany student at Gotham University who was experimented on and became a supervillain. It’s unclear exactly how she’ll fit into the third season of the show, which now sees Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) as the one and only Batwoman, since Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) has gone off searching for her cousin by the name of *checks notes* Bruce Wayne. That’s an important name, right?
Regan is best known for her roles on TNT’s The Last Ship, USA’s White Collar, and last year’s Paradise Lost, with Josh Hartnett. She’s also appeared in small roles in Agent Carter (as Dottie Underwood), John Wick, Jane the Virgin, and others. She’s been acting consistently for over 15 years.
Poison Ivy has been along way longer than that. She’s been around for 55 years and in that time has risen to become one of Batman’s most famous adversaries. However, unlike Catwoman or Harley Quinn, she hasn’t been in nearly as many live-action shows or movies (though she has played a big, albeit less villainous role in HBO Max’s current animated Harley Quinn series). Her most famous appearance, of course, was in the 1997 camp classic Batman and Robin, portrayed by Uma Thurman. However, in that film, she had to share the spotlight with Mr. Freeze, played by then-biggest star in the world Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Poison Ivy also appeared on Fox’s Gotham for several seasons, though the role was recast multiple times. Then, finally, it was believed Poison Ivy could appears in 2020’s all-girl team up film Birds of Prey, but that didn’t happen. Producer and star Margot Robbie has said on multiple occasions she’d love for her Harley Quinn to show down with the character, maybe in a sequel.
That still may still happen — but the CW is getting her first when Batwoman returns beginning in October.