Get Ready for Your Next Superhero Obsession — 'Naomi' on the CW Is Coming
Oct. 17 2021, Published 11:10 a.m. ET
For DC Comics fans who are tired of the same stories featuring Superman or Batman, the CW is giving audiences a brand-new heroine to root for. Based on the comics series Naomi written by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker, Naomi is being developed for the CW by legendary director Ava DuVernay (A Wrinkle in Time, Selma).
While very few details about the show have been available until now, DC FanDome 2021 gave fans a sneak peek into the action. Here's everything we know about the Naomi show, including the cast members, the plot, and the release date.
The first clip of 'Naomi' was released at DC FanDome 2021.
Deadline announced the adaptation of the comics series for television in December 2020, but it took until February 2021 to order a pilot for the show. On May 24, 2021, Naomi was officially picked up as a series for development by and executive produced by Ava alongside Jill Blankenship, Sarah Bremner, and Paul Garnes. The pilot episode was also written by Ava.
In March 2021, young actress Kaci Walfall was cast as the titular character Naomi McDuffie. At DC FanDome, Kaci revealed that when she was cast, she was the same age as the main character, sixteen years old. Series regulars also announced in March 2021 include Alexander Wraith, Cranston Johnson, Camila Moreno, Barry Watson, Mouzam Makkar, Mary-Charles Jones, Aidan Gemme, Daniel Puig, and Will Meyers.
A new clip from the show was revealed at DC FanDome. In the clip, Naomi is in class giving a presentation when the school gets alerts that Superman is fighting a few blocks away. Naomi runs out of class to try and capture the Man of Steel for her web show but ends up stopping on the way after experiencing what could be a panic attack — or the awakening of her superpowers.
In the comics, Superman's arrival in her town leads Naomi to question her own origin story.
In the comics, Naomi McDuffie (who is named for late comic book artist Dwayne McDuffie) is a metahuman with powers to fly, shoot energy blasts for her hands, and possess super strength. The plot of the comic starts in an alternate universe where the degradation of Earth's ozone layer exposes citizens to a new kind of radioactive energy and causes 29 people across the globe to develop superpowers.
The development of these new powers leads to infighting between the metahumans. The evilest among them, named Zumbado, tries to kill Naomi as an infant, so her parents (two metahumans who were among the original 29) send her to Earth-0 for safety. She is adopted by Greg McDuffie, an ex-soldier aware of her powers. When Superman arrives in town and discussions about powered beings from other worlds surface, Naomi realizes she is adopted and begins her coming-of-age journey into heroism.
Currently, the release date of the Naomi show is slated for 2022 on the CW.
