BATWOMAN Pilot Casts Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane

At last, Batwoman has found her father.

Deadline has word that the CW pilot Batwoman, based on the DC Comics superhero, has cast Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane, father to Batwoman/Kate Kane and her sister Alice/Beth Kane.

According to the article, Jacob Kane is described as "a former military colonel with a chip on his shoulder for Batman, Jacob Kane now commands Gotham’s private security firm The Crows, and has made it his mission to protect his city better than the Dark Knight ever could.  But it’s only a matter of time before his unwavering disdain for vigilantes puts him at odds with Gotham’s new caped crusader…who also happens to be his own daughter."

The pilot for the proposed series, starring Ruby Rose as Batwoman/Kate Kane, is written by writer Caroline Dries (The Vampire Diaries) and will now be directed by Marcos Siega instead of David Nutter.  Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence.

Scott, 53, is a Scottish actor best known as the villainous Sean Ambrose in Mission: Impossible 2 and as Alec Palmer in the Doctor Who episode "Hide".  In addition, he's played Thomas Abigail on AMC's Fear the Walking Dead and has appeared in episodes of Highlander: The Series, Desperate Housewives, Sinbad, and Heist.  His other films include Ever After, Deep Impact, Dark Water, Hitman, My Week with Marilyn, and Taken 3.

Created in 2009 by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III, Jacob Kane first appeared in Detective Comics (vol.1) #854 as Colonel Jacob Kane, the father of Kate Kane and an ally of Batwoman.  Colonel Kane is a lifelong soldier and highly-decorated Colonel, and had been a field officer with USSOCOM for most of his career, leading numerous tactical operations across the globe.  His wife, Gabi Kane, was a Captain with the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade.  Both Kanes worked extensively with military intelligence services.

Jacob and Gabi had identical twin daughters, Kate and Beth, and the family frequently moved due to the nature of Jacob and Gabi's work.  Jacob was often away from home, since his duties included intervention in various international military crises.

The Kane family eventually moved to Brussels in Belgium, since the parents were now serving at NATO.  However, the family was soon torn apart due to a terrorist attack.  Gabi took her daughters out to celebrate their twelfth birthday, and they were kidnapped by heavily armed men.  Military intelligence eventually located the hostages, and Jacob was put in charge of the tactical unit sent to rescue them.  However, they were too late, as his wife had been executed and his daughter Elizabeth was believed to be dead.  He rescued Kate himself, but she was traumatized by the sight of her dead mother and sister.

Colonel Kane played an important role in his daughter's Batwoman operations.  He provided her a one-man command, control, and communication center.  They stayed in constant radio link, with the elder Kane being able to run searches, provide advice, and generally work in the background, using his considerable knowledge, contacts and experience.  He had access to numerous databases that were normally only accessible to military and law enforcement personnel to provide intel to his daughter.

Later, Kane founded The Colony, a U.S. government-funded military organization which operates in Gotham City.  The organization is dedicated to studying the work of Batman and aims to create an army of soldiers trained in his image.  When Batman discovered surveillance equipment monitoring him, he investigated and found his allies were being monitored as well, particularly Batwoman.  These events inspired the two heroes to unite and begin training a team of young vigilantes.  Later, Jacob Kane commanded an attack on the heroes, revealing himself as the leader of the Colony to his daughter.

Jacob Kane commanded a drone strike on members of the League of Shadows, who were operating in Gotham, despite the likely potential of civilian casualties.  In order to prevent the attack, Red Robin hacked the drones and ordered them to concentrate on a single target instead -- himself.  Red Robin sacrificed himself, and seemingly died as a result, though in reality he was abducted and imprisoned by Mister Oz.

This will be the first time Jacob Kane will appear in live action, although the character previously appeared in the animated movie Batman: Bad Blood, voiced by Geoff Pierson.