The husband and wife creative team sat down at SDCC to talk about the reason Black Lighting is so important and just why it should reign supreme in its very own Lightningverse. “You be yourself. We walked into this situation knowing that Black Lightning/Salim was gonna be the vision and that we would be supportive of that vision. It’s time for not only the black man to be introduced in terms of a character but that a black man helms these stories”, Mara Brock Akil said.
Salim Akil added that the network was very supportive of his vision and didn’t shy away from the hard hitting superhero stories he wanted and needed to tell. “I think that that deserves some credit. They were ready to do it.”
For those of us who were crossing our fingers and hoping for Black Lightning to crossover with the other CW shows, the creative minds behind the show set the record straight. “We won’t. No.” Salim went on to say that he feels other black comic heroes and figures belong in his new television universe. “Static Shock should be in my hands. There’s nobody else’s hands it should be in.”
Watch our full interview here, where the Akils talk in more depth about the realness of Black Lightning.
Black Lightning returns to the CW for season two this fall.
