Posted in: Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, CW, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: arrowverse, bleeding cool, cable, Chantal Thuy, comic books, Comics, dc, dc comics, Grace Choi, preview, season 4, streaming, teaser, television, the cw, trailer, tv

Black Lightning: Chantal Thuy Upped to Series Regular; Talks Season 4

Looks like this week, in particular, is a pretty one to be a fan of The CW's Black Lightning. Earlier this week, we learned that the network was developing a backdoor pilot for a spinoff built around Jordan Calloway's Painkiller character that will happen as the seventh episode of the show's upcoming fourth season. On Friday, viewers learned that they'll be seeing much more of Chantal Thuy's metahuman shapeshifter Grace Choi getting upgraded to series regular when it returns in February. "Chantal Thuy embodies the character of Grace Choi," said Black Lightning executive producer and showrunner Salim Akil. "I am sure our Black Lightning fans knew, especially those who follow the Grace and Anissa relationship storyline, that having Chantal join as a series regular was only a matter of time. I am elated to finally welcome her officially to the team."

Speaking with Deadline Hollywood (who first reported the news, exclusively), Thuy had some thought to add on her character's growth, meeting her possible Arrowverse half-sibling, and what makes Black Lightning so relevant:

Grace's Series-Long Growth & Evolution- and What Lies Ahead with Season 4: "As the seasons progressed, Grace has started to embrace her strengths and her powers, which I see continuing into season 4. She's gaining control of her shapeshifting abilities, she's less volatile, and less of an outsider. I'm hoping this will mean a new suit and getting to join in on more of the family fights to protect Freeland! I also feel her tendency to avoid intimacy will slowly be mended through her relationship with Anissa."

On Meeting Possible Sibling Ryan Choi aka Atom in the Arrowverse in the Future: "I would love nothing more than to see what a storyline would look like if Ryan Choi [Osric Chau] and Grace got to team up in the Arrowverse. I'm very curious to see what their backstory is and how they would interact. I think that there's exciting opportunities available with the crossovers, and who wouldn't be interested in seeing two long-lost half-siblings reconnect?"

On Why "Black Lightning" is as Relevant Today as Ever Before: "Black Lightning has been successful in exploring real-world issues that affect Black communities in America, while also being able to entertain audiences in the process. Salim, our showrunner, has been an amazing voice for the community. These issues need to be discussed now more than ever in this period of social unrest and political mess. To close off, I also deeply experience the value of the work when young girls and women reach out to me and say they feel seen and validated in part due to the relationship between Nafessa Williams' character and mine, which is something they rarely get to see between two POC superheroes on television."

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