Ava DuVernay Comments on DC Comics' Naomi Series Announcement for The CW

Following today's announcement that Naomi -- the young, Black superhero created by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker -- is headed for the small screen with a little help from producer Ava DuVernay, the filmmaker took to social media to express her excitement not just for Naomi, but for the three projects she's working under Warner Bros. and DC's watch, The New Gods, Naomi, and the former Vertigo series DMZ. Each of the three centers on a powerful woman, with two of the three being explicitly a person of color and Big Barda of the New Gods being an alien who can presumably be cast as anyone.

In her brief statement, DuVernay thanked Bendis and Walker, as well as her writing partner Jill Blankenship, who works with her on Naomi.

You can see her tweet below.

Thanks @DCComics for believing in the vision. Barda. Zee Hernandez. Now, Naomi. The third DC project for @ARRAYNow. Working hard to bring these ladies to the screen. Thanks to @BrianMBendis @DavidWalker1201 + my writing partner Jill Blankenship for joining me on NAOMI. Love her. pic.twitter.com/0ZXoGYsOik

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 4, 2020

With so many DC shows on The CW right now (and more in development), Naomi could be a very different look and feel almost by default. While shows like Supergirl and The Flash take place in big (albeit ficitonal) cities, Naomi (the comic) didn't...and that was part of the high concept.

"Our first instance was to take her story into a place that you don't normally see in the DC Universe, or you know exists," Bendis told ComicBook.com when the series launched. "This came from my deep reading last year of the whole history of the DC Comics and all the big storylines. And when you read them in a row you'll find out, "Oh, this happened in Metropolis, Gotham, Metropolis, Gotham, Star City, Metropolis, Gotham, Metropolis, Gotham, Coast City.' And so there's all these places that the story still has yet to go because the main places of the DC Universe are so fun and so exciting to be, right?"

In addition to Naomi, there is a Wonder Girl series in development for The CW, featuring a new take on the character whose first comic book appearance will be as part of the Future State event series. The network is also exploring a spinoff for Painkiller (Jordan Calloway), a supporting character on Black Lightning, which will end after its upcoming fourth season.