Wayne Brady Wants to Be Part of the Black Lightning Spinoff

Last month, The CW announced that when Black Lightning returns for its fourth season, the series will contain a backdoor pilot for a potential Painkiller spinoff. While that news was exciting for fans of the series, it was soon followed by some less exciting news, that Black Lightning would end with the upcoming fourth season. But even with the series ending, one of its stars is hopeful that their character can return not just for the final season of the series, but for the Painkiller series as well.

Wayne Brady, who played one of the primary antagonists of Black Lightning‘s third season Gravedigger, recently told Entertainment Weekly that while he doesn’t yet know if he’ll be part of Season 4, he’s certainly open to it and he absolutely wants to be part of Painkiller.

“The thing about Gravedigger is, I came in and Gravedigger just kicked everybody’s behind,” Brady said. “With the cancellation notice, they’re trying to do what they can with the season. I don’t know if I’ll be a part of this yet. But I do think that there’s always — as long as no one’s ever said, ‘Yes, Gravedigger’s dead’ — there’s always a possibility that he may come back in the new spinoff.”

As fans will recall, Gravedigger was seen having survived the explosion of the ASA Pit at the end of Season 3 which would certainly make it possible to see more of the villain with familial ties to Black Lightning and if sheer effort can make something so, Brady is on top of that as well.

“I’ve been putting in calls,” Brady said. “Because trust me, a brother wants to be back in the Black Lightning universe.”

News of Black Lightning‘s cancellation came as a shock to fans in late November when it was announced. At the time, series creator Salim Akil expressed his excitement at the possibility of the Painkiller series as a way of continuing the story in a new chapter.

“When we first started the Black Lighting journey, I knew that Jefferson Pierce and his family of powerful Black Women would be a unique addition to the super hero genre,” Akil told Variety in a statement. “The love that Blerds and all comic book fans around the globe have shown this series over the past three seasons proved what we imagined, Black People Want To See Themselves in all their complexities.”

“Thank you to the phenomenal cast, writers and crew without whom none of this would’ve been possible,” Akil added. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve been able to do and the moments we’ve been able to create in bringing DC’s first African-American family of super heroes to life for the culture. I’m very grateful to Peter Roth, Warner Bros. TV, Mark Pedowitz, The CW Network and Greg Berlanti for their partnership and support of my vision at every step of this journey. While Season Four may be the end of one journey, I’m extremely excited to usher in a new chapter and continued collaboration with The CW as we tell the story of Painkiller.”

Black Lightning is set to return to The CW in 2021.

Would you want to see Gravedigger in the Painkiller series?. Let us know in the comments.