Posted in: CW, Preview, TV | Tagged: Ava DuVernay, cw, hawkman, Jill Blankenship, Kaci Walfall, naomi, superman

Naomi Team Teases Superman & Hawkman Connections; "Cosmic Cameos"

On January 11, Oscar nominee & Emmy winner Ava DuVernay & Jill Blankenship's (Arrow) Naomi joins a returning Superman & Lois on The CW schedule. Now the last time we checked in to see how things were going, we learned that Stephanie March had joined the cast of the Kaci Walfall-starring series as Akira (who's hiding out on Earth until Walfall's Naomi seeks her out in her search for answers. Based on the 2019-debuting comic book series co-written by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker, and illustrated by artist Jamal Campbell, the series follows a teen girl's journey from her small northwestern town to the heights of the multiverse. When a mysterious incident involving the Man of Steel shakes her hometown to the core, Naomi McDuffie (Walfall) is inspired to uncover its origins- and what she discovers will challenge everything we believe about our heroes and reveal special abilities in our hero which may not be from Earth. But she won't be facing those challenges alone, not with "Team Naomi" ready with the assist: Annabelle, Lourdes, Nathan, Jacob, and Anthony. Now we're learning a bit more about the series itself from Walfall and Blankenship during an interview with EW (with preview images on the way)- here are some of the highlights:

Viewers Will Be Getting "Buffy" Vibes: "We're telling these grounded high school stories in the midst of this epic cosmic struggle. We're balancing equally these two parts of Naomi's life," explained Blankenship, who lists Buffy the Vampire Slayer as an example of the show's attempts to keep things relatable. "Naomi will be relatable to a lot of people. The big question of the show is, 'Who am I?' And that's a question, especially crucially as a teenager, I asked myself," Walfall added.

Naomi Learns Her Connections to Superman Are Much Deeper Than Being a Fan: "It's about Naomi's journey to fully become herself. She's not going to become the person she will eventually become right away. We'll get to be with her in these moments of struggle and triumph, and victory as she learns how to be a hero. She starts to realize that this affection and affinity she has for Superman is actually rooted in something much deeper than she thought. We get to watch as she discovers in real-time [that] Superman [is] really part of her story and she's part of his," explained Blankenship.

Alexander Wraith's Dee Has a Hawkman/Hawkgirl Connection: Viewers will learn that Wraith's tattoo parlor-owning Dee has some otherworldly connections to some names that should be very familiar to DC Comics fans. "He's kind of like her Mr. Miyagi. He really believes in her more than she can believe in herself. Although he doesn't have all the answers, he teaches her more and more about how to control herself," Walfall revealed about the character who will turn out to be a winged alien from the planet Thanagar (see what we mean?).

Viewers Should Expect Surprising "Cosmic Cameos": As we've already seen, the series will definitely be hitting some familiar notes with comic book fans- and that's just the beginning. "We are going deep. I'm confident DC fans will be pleasantly surprised with our cosmic cameos. Over the season, Naomi's world expands in such a huge way," Blankenship teased.

From Oscar® nominee/Emmy® winner Ava DuVernay and Jill Blankenship ("Arrow"), and starring Kaci Walfall ("Army Wives," "Power," "The Lion King" on Broadway) in the title role, the DC drama NAOMI follows the journey of a cool, confident, comic book–loving teenager as she pursues her hidden destiny. When a supernatural event shakes her small hometown of Port Oswego, Naomi sets out to uncover its origins, with a little help from her fiercely loyal best friend Annabelle (Mary-Charles Jones, "Kevin Can Wait"). She also has the support of her adoptive, doting parents, veteran military officer Greg (Barry Watson, "7th Heaven," "The Loudest Voice") and linguist Jennifer (Mouzam Makkar, "The Fix").

After an encounter with Zumbado (Cranston Johnson, "Filthy Rich"), the mysterious owner of a used car lot, leaves her shaken, Naomi turns to tattoo shop owner Dee (Alexander Wraith, "Orange Is the New Black"), who becomes her reluctant mentor. While unraveling the mystery of herself, Naomi also navigates her high school friendships with both military kids and local townies, including ex-boyfriend and high school jock Nathan (Daniel Puig, "The System"); Annabelle's longtime, loyal boyfriend Jacob (Aidan Gemme, "Deliver Us From Evil"); proud "townie" Anthony (Will Meyers, "Bad Education"); and fellow comic book enthusiast Lourdes (newcomer Camila Moreno). As Naomi journeys to the heights of the Multiverse in search of answers, what she discovers will challenge everything we believe about our heroes.

Alexander Wraith, Cranston Johnson, Camila Moreno, Barry Watson, Mouzam Makkar, Mary-Charles Jones, Aidan Gemme, Daniel Puig, and Will Meyers also star in The CW's Naomi. Based on the characters from DC Comics, the series is written and executive produced by DuVernay and Blankenship, and executive produced by Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes of ARRAY Filmworks. Amanda Marsalis (Echo Park, Queen Sugar) directed and co-executive produced the pilot episode- with the series stemming from ARRAY Filmworks in association with Warner Bros. Television. Behind the camera, director-producer DeMane Davis (Queen Sugar) has signed an exclusive overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. As part of the deal, Davis will reteam with DuVernay on the DC Comics series as a co-executive producer, will helm several episodes, and also oversee the directing team.

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