Cress Williams Cast in Lead Role of CW’s ‘Black Lightning’ Pilot
Greg Berlanti will executive produce new superhero series
Joe Otterson | February 24, 2017 @ 11:43 AM
Last Updated: February 24, 2017 @ 12:06 PM
Cress Williams has landed the title role of the CW pilot “Black Lightning,” TheWrap has confirmed.
Based on the comics of the same name, the series will follow Jefferson Pierce (Williams), who hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago. But with a daughter hell-bent on justice and 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.
Created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, Pierce is one of the first major African American superheroes to appear in DC Comics. The character debuted in 1977 in a self-titled series that ran for 11 issues.
Williams is known for his role as Lavon Hayes on the CW show “Hart of Dixie.” He also recently appeared on CBS’ “Code Black” and portrayed Ornette Howard on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights.” He is represented by APA and Sinclair Entertainment Group.
The husband-and-wife team of Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil are writing the pilot, which comes from Warner Bros. TV and will be executive produced by the Akils along with Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.
Berlanti is also the executive producer of four DC comic book adaptation series on The CW, “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Legends of Tomorrow” and “Supergirl,” though it’s unclear at this point if “Black Lightning” would join the so-called “Arrowverse” or exist in its own world.
'Riverdale' Murder Mystery: Who Killed Jason Blossom? (Photos)
Suspect #1: Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel) This predatory music teacher was giving Jason "music lessons," which we know from her sessions with Archie, could be innuendo for something else. She had a gun. And she was very adamant Archie keep quiet about the morning they heard the gunshot.
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Suspect #2: Polly Cooper We still don't know exactly what happened to make the Coopers lock Polly up. Did she really go crazy? What's she capable of? Cheryl certainly seems to think she should be Prime Suspect #1.
Archie Comics
Suspect #3: Ms. Grundy's ex-husband If her story is to be believed, there's a violent, dangerous, perhaps jealous ex running loose. Was he tailing her? Did he see her by the river that morning with Archie, mistake him for Jason and ...?
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Suspect #4: Cheryl Blossom (Madeleine Petsch) She seems pretty distraught over the death of her "soulmate," sure, but she also kept the real reason behind his disappearance a secret for a long time. Could she be hiding more?
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Suspect #5: The Coopers They're pretty cagey when it comes to what exactly happened to Polly, plus they hate the Blossoms, to the point where Alice said she hopes he "burns in hell." Did she help put him there? Hmmm.
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Suspect #6: Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) Betty's the quintessential good girl next door, but as we and Chuck Clayton found out, she's got a dark side -- and sometimes has delusions about who she's talking to and who she is that she forgets about later. Uh oh.
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Suspect #7: Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines) Did Jason kill himself after finding whatever it was he was looking for by running away to be lacking? Forensics probably could have ruled out suicide, but nobody has, and perhaps that's on purpose.
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Suspect #8: F.P. Jones (Skeet Ulrich) Jughead's dad is definitely shady, and as the leader of the Southside Serpents, he's probably got his hands in a lot of the criminal activity in Riverdale. Did Jason show up at the wrong gathering at the wrong time and get caught in the crossfire?
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Suspect #9: Mayor McCoy (Robin Givens) Veronica's mom handed the mayor a big bag of cash for reasons that have yet to become clear, and she's obviously up to something untoward. Who's to say it isn't covering up the murder of a teenager?
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Suspect #10: Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) OK, probably not. First of all, he felt super guilty about knowing anything that might be helpful to the investigation and wanted to come clean right away. It's much more likely Archie, whose likeness to Jason is often commented upon, was the intended victim.
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Which classic comics character is responsible for the death of a teenager on The CW’s TV adaptation?
Suspect #1: Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel) This predatory music teacher was giving Jason "music lessons," which we know from her sessions with Archie, could be innuendo for something else. She had a gun. And she was very adamant Archie keep quiet about the morning they heard the gunshot.