Black Lightning boss addresses those Arrowverse references

Alas, Black Lightning still isn’t connected to the Arrowverse.

A few weeks ago, the freshman CW superhero drama got viewers excited about a possible connection to the Arrowverse when Lynn (Christine Adams) and Jennifer Pierce (China Anne McClain) referenced Vixen — a superhero who has popped up on both Arrow (played by Megalyn E.K.) and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers) — and Supergirl (played by Melissa Benoist on Supergirl). Well, executive producer Salim Akil says that those lines weren’t meant to indicate that Black Lightning was in the same universe as any of the network’s other super-series.

“We are in our own world,” Akil tells EW. “We’re not in the Arrowverse. We’re not in the Supergirl universe. We’re in the Black Lightning universe. If there’s ever a crossover, Supergirl will come to Freeland, or Green Arrow will come to Freeland.” (Note: The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow take place on Earth-1, and Supergirl takes place on Earth-38, but all four shows are part of a vast multiverse.)

In fact, those “fun” references to other DC Comics heroes were just that — fun references. “We mentioned those other characters just to have fun,” says Akil. “I thought it was just fun to tease the fans and have fun with the fans. We’re always trying to have a conversation with the fans and we’re also trying to have fun with them, so that was part of that.”

In other words, nothing has changed since the CW picked up the series a year ago. “Black Lightning, at this time, is not part of the Arrowverse. It is a separate situation,” said network president Mark Pedowitz last May.

The season 1 finale of Black Lightning airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. on the CW.