Following its season one finale, Black Lightning showrunner Salim Akil and star Cress Williams have been speaking about The CW’s newest DC show, and more specifically its connection – or lack of – to the wider Arrowverse.
“We are in our own world,” said Akil. “We’re not in the Arrowverse. We’re not in the Supergirl universe. We’re in the Black Lightning universe. If there’s ever a crossover, Supergirl will come to Freeland, or Green Arrow will come to Freeland. We mentioned those other characters just to have fun. I thought it was just fun to tease the fans and have fun with the fans. We’re always trying to have a conversation with the fans and we’re also trying to have fun with them, so that was part of that.”
“I think the producer/creator of the show, Salim, has been pretty clear that we’re not really a part of the Arrowverse,” added Williams. “I know everybody wants us to be, and I still see tweets going, ‘another Arrowverse show.’ But we’re not part of it. I think he’s even talked about it, it would be really great to create a new universe. I think he coined it the ‘Lightningverse’. If we tried to fit ourselves into the Arrowverse, we’d have to completely change the style of our show. If the Arrowverse tries to fit into ours, it’s also changing the style of their show. They’re very different.”
Arrow star Stephen Amell has recently said that he believes there will be a crossover with Black Lightning, but judging from the comments above, it doesn’t sound like we should expect to see Jefferson Pierce appearing in Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl or DC’s Legends of Tomorrow any time soon.
Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.
