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Momentum on The CW’s recently acquired Black Lightning series is picking up. Just weeks after the network came to the show’s rescue, following Fox casting it aside, Hart of Dixie’s Cress Williams was cast in the title role. Now, as production is kicking off, an official photo has been released of Williams in the suit. Check it out below:
According to DC’s official website, the costume was designed by Laura Jean Shannon, whose work can be seen in films such as Iron Man and Blade: Trinity, as well as several other movies and television shows. Suffice it to say, he’ll fit in nicely with his fellow CW superheroes, though it’s still unclear if Black Lightning will be a part of the Arrowverse.
One of the show’s executive producers, Samil Akil, who will direct the pilot episode based on a script of his, said the following about the series:
“I knew way too much about the world as a young boy growing up in Richmond, California. I was no stranger to violence, death, hopelessness or the feeling that no one cared about what was happening in my life.
“Comics were a great way for me to escape. I was about 13 when Black Lightning was created (in 1977 by Tony Isabella with with Trevor von Eeden), and finally there was a Black Super Hero that gave a damn about our neighborhood and our lives.
“Resurrecting him at a time in our society when a sense of hope is lacking…Black Lightning will be that hope. And in updating the suit, it will signal to a new generation that it’s time to harness and release our power, and become our own Super Heroes.”
The show’s synopsis is as follows:
“Jefferson Pierce made his choice: he hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago, but with one daughter hell-bent on justice and the other a star student being recruited by a local gang, he’ll be pulled back into the fight as the wanted vigilante and DC legend — Black Lightning.”
As of now, the premiere is currently without an air date. Working alongside Akil to develop the series is his wife, Mara Brock Akil, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.
Images: DC, The CW
