3 Things From The Cress Williams Panel At Awesome Con
Over the weekend, I got the chance to attend Cress Williams’ panel at Awesome Con here in Washington, D.C. This is the second time I’ve gotten to be around Williams (the first being at DC in DC) and he is as genuine as they come. During his panel, he talked a lot about the social aspect of Black Lightning, the show’s beginnings and so much more. Keep reading to see three things we learned from Williams’ panel at Awesome Con.
Social Issues/Message of the Show
Jefferson has become Williams’ favorite DC hero, because he’s a hero who wants to save his neighborhood first and foremost. “He’s not just fighting aliens.”
In fact, the community-driven aspect of Black Lightning is a big reason why he took the role. “The social aspect, the real life aspect, is what drew me to it,” Williams said. “I just feel excited and honored to do it.”
Arrowverse Crossover
The most popular question at Williams’ panel (no seriously, it was asked 4 or 5 different times) was about whether or not we would see Black Lightning pop up on any of the other DCTV shows like Arrow or The Flash. Williams said he hasn’t even thought about what that would look like, but logistically it would be hard to pull off as Black Lightning shoots in Atlanta and all of the other Arrowverse shows shoot in Vancouver. Williams said you can “never say never,” but it’s probably quite a ways down the line. He did say, though, that if he had to team up with another Arrowverse hero, he would love to fly with Supergirl because he has an “affinity for Kryptonians.”
Side note: Williams said rather than have Black Lightning crossover with the other Arrowverse shows, another possibility would be for Black Lightning to expand its own universe.
Black Lightning Was Originally Picked Up By FOX
Before this panel, I just assumed Black Lightning was always a pilot for The CW. But according to Williams, that’s not what happened. He said The CW always wanted the pilot from the beginning, but it ended up being bought by FOX. FOX then realized they had too many pilots for the 2017-2018 season and let it go, which is how it ended up on The CW.
Williams said he was really happy the show ended up at The CW in the end, even going so far as to say it is a “dream come true.” “It’s a network that gives shows a chance.”
Stay tuned for more of our coverage from Awesome Con.