Is Black Lightning's Cress Williams Done With The Arrowverse? Here’s What He Says

Black Lightning (Cress Williams) prepares for action

Spoilers for the Black Lightning series finale -- “The Book of Resurrection: Chapter Two: Closure” -- lie ahead.

The Arrowverse has been seeing some major changes as of late, with new shows being added to the small-screen franchise and veteran shows reaching their conclusions. Black Lightning falls into the latter category, as the Cress Williams-led show finished out its fourth and final season nearly a week ago. As of right now, it looks like the book has been closed on Jefferson Pierce’s journey, but you can never say never in this world. Now, Williams is sharing thoughts on whether he’s truly done with the Arrowverse.

Black Lightning may be finished, but The Flash may present an opportunity for the hero to return to the fold. While there won’t be a typical Arrowverse crossover during the upcoming TV season, Season 8 of the Scarlet Speedster’s show will kick off with five episodes that will see him team up with different characters. So when The CW confirmed this new crossover approach for the franchise, Cress Williams chimed in on the possibility of Jefferson Pierce making a comeback:

I have had people from The Flash reach out, asking if I'd come do some work with them. . . . Just in the talk phase. I was really surprised because it was months ago, I think in the fall, when they first approached me about, ‘Hey, do you, would you do something with us next season?’ And so I initially said yeah, or my representatives said, ‘Yeah, we're interested, but you know, that's quite a ways away, and who knows where we're going to be at that point.’ And they just kind of came back saying, ‘Hey, we'll work around your schedule. We just want to know if you're interested.’

So based on his recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, nothing appears to be set in stone yet, but Cress Williams seems more than willing to reprise his electrifying superhero role. Seeing Jefferson Pierce on The Flash would definitely be a treat, especially for those who loved the dynamic between the two characters in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.

In the Black Lightning finale, Jefferson Pierce and his allies succeeded in saving Freeland. And following their victory and the death of Tobias Whale, Pierce chooses to retire the mantle of Black Lightning and remarry ex-wife Lynn. With this, it’s hard to say how Jefferson could be brought back into the hero game for The Flash. But there’s a chance it could have something to do with the revived Lala (a.k.a. Tattoo Man) who is shown to be alive during the final moments of the series finale.

Black Lightning fans were likely disappointed to learn that the Painkiller spinoff won’t be moving forward, but it should be comforting to hear that Jefferson Pierce may be returning. They’ll no doubt be waiting intently to see how things pan out for the potential superhero team up.

The first three seasons of Black Lightning are currently available to stream on Netflix.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.