New 'Black Lightning' Trailer Released

The CW has released a new trailer for the upcoming DC Comics superhero series Black Lightning.

The trailer shows Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), a retired hero, returning to action to protect his family and his city from the growing threat of criminals.

Take a look above.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Black Lightning showrunner Salim Akil explained his vision for the series and its hero.

"I'm not really doing a show about a superhero," Akil said. "I'm doing a show about a man who has a family and is trying to affect his community. Someone asked me, what's the most difficult aspect of doing the show, and it really is me coming to terms with that he has powers because I could write a whole script without him ever using his powers, which nobody wants me to do."

Even though Akil had to acquiesce to Jefferson wielding his electrical abilities, he says that he's mostly avoiding the stunt-drive fight scene style of other superhero television series and instead provided something more realistic and impactful.

"I know and understand the result of extreme violence in my own life, in my friends' lives, and so I know what violence really is," said Akil. "I've held people who have been shot. I know what a gunshot looks like; I know what violence looks like. So if you ask me what violence is, I'd say it never leads anywhere. But at the same time, violence leads to freedom. Nobody ever fought for freedom without some degree of violence."

In Black Lightning, Jefferson Pierce is a man wrestling with a secret. Nine years ago, Pierce was gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, which he used to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life and his family on the line, he left his Super Hero days behind. Almost a decade later, Pierce's crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.

Black Lightning premieres January 16, 2018, at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.