“It’s so great for representation and it’s also grounded in normalization,” says Naomi star Kaci Walfall of the barrier breaking CW superhero series from Ava DuVernay and Jill Blankenship. “So it’s a story that is just about a 16-year old girl whose Black, who happens to be a superhero and I think that is supercool ‘cause it’s not something we see, it’s not something we see,” Walfall added.
“Younger me would really look up to that.”
Walfall joined us today with EP Blankenship on Hero Nation. You can hear on the podcast here:
Adapted from comic book series that debuted in 2019, co-written by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker and illustrated by Jamal Campbell, the January 11-debuting Naomi from Oscar nominee DuVernay and former Arrow EP Blankenship tracks a Superman-obsessed teenage girl’s journey from her small northwestern town to superpower heights. Set for a 13-episode first season, Naomi returns from hiatus on February 22 with its fifth episode.
Also, in the aftermath of this week’s Oscars nominations, we debate the long term effects of the snubbing of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Daniel Craig’s last James Bond flick No Time To Die by Academy voters.
Yes, Billie Eilish’s tune for the 007 movie was nominated, but pretty much this year once again revealed the bias the Oscars have against superhero and action themed offerings. On the flip side, director Denis Villeneuve’s adaption of Dune received 10 nominations, including Best Picture, but nada for the Blade Runner 2049 helmer. Does that make any sense to you?
Take a listen.
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