Black Lightning photo: First look at Cress Williams in costume

For the time being, The CW’s Black Lightning is just a pilot, and there is no guarantee that this is a show coming on the air for the 2017-18 season. Yet, we can’t deny that this is a show we’re hopeful to see. this is a network that’s made a killing with superheroes, and we think that there is a way to continue that without over-saturating the market. (This may be a controversial opinion, but we’d be fine with scaling down all of the shows to 13-15 episodes and then adding a couple more to the roster. Make it a larger universe and tell tighter stories!)

Below, what we do have for you that is exciting is a first-look photo at Hart of Dixie alum Cress Williams in the title role, otherwise known as Jefferson Pierce (see the full version below). He is a man inclined to re-don the famous costume after many years away due to changing circumstances. (We want to keep the plot under wraps for as long as we possibly can.)

In a statement describing the costume, executive producer, writer, and director Salim Akil had the following to say:

“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,” he says in a release. “Comics were a great way for me to escape. I was about 13 when ‘Black Lightning’ was created, 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.”

Ultimately, it will be up to The CW to determine whether or not they will bring the show on the air. We do think there’s potential, and we very much like the costume. The goggles are a little questionable, but they look far better than they did in the comics.

What do you think about the Black Lightning costume, and are you more excited to check out the series even more than you were previously? Share now in the comments. (Photo: The CW.)