Ava DuVernay and The CW Give Us Our First Look at Kaci Walfall as Naomi

JB Augustine |

May 6, 2021

The first look at young actress Kaci Walfall as the still-relative-newcomer to the superhero scene, Naomi, in a CW pilot has been revealed.

Film director and show head Ava DuVernay shared a photo of Walfall as the character in a pose meant to evoke the imagery from the comics. She then wrote the following in her tweet about Walfall and Naomi which is being produced by Warner Bros. TV and her ARRAY film group:

“First look at @kaciwalfall as NAOMI from @ARRAYNow + @warnerbrostv. I love this show so much and have had sheer, downright fun creating it. Feel like a teenager again. LOL. Kaci is a phenom. Truly excited for her and grateful to all involved in bringing NAOMI to life! Xo”

Below is the image of Walfall in full:

DuVernay also quoted a tweet of hers from February that went out when the pilot was announced, which got into the brief history of the Brian Michael Bendis co-created character, whose name is an homage to thenotable and decorated writer Dwayne McDuffie.

“NAOMI was created by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker and artist Jamal Campbell in 2019,” she wrote. “Her last name McDuffie is a tribute to late comic writer Dwayne McDuffie. Now, she’s on her way to a pilot for @TheCW from yours truly and Jill Blankenship. Her journey continues. Let’s go!”

Naomi is only in the pilot phase and has not been ordered to series, but a bunch of cast members and characters were recently added to the series.

They include tattoo artist Dee, played by Alexander Wraith (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), used car lot owner Zumbado, played by Cranston Johnson (Filthy Rich), and Camila Moreno (Lost Beyond the Stars) as a comic book-obsessed collectible store proprietor.

Walfall herself is known for recurring roles in the ABC TV series Army Wives and the CBS reboot of The Equalizer. Naomi marks her first lead role in a serial drama.

The first DC concept being produced at CW without the help of Greg Berlanti., not much is known about the pilot’s plot, but it seems like the show’s writers will follow the premise of Bendis’ comic as closely as they can.

Raised on another Earth and living a normal life, Naomi McDuffie is a unaware of her heritage as the offspring of metahumans with godlike powers. However, that all changes when Superman and Mongul crash-land in her neighborhood and duke it out. Don’t be shocked if The CW tones down or avoids this angle altogether.

Ava DuVernay has a growing relationship with Warner Bros., but considering they jerked the rug out from under her on New Gods end the last pilot they ordered for a young female hero of color – Wonder Girl – was axed, we’ll see what happens with this one.

Tell us if you plan to tune in for Naomi if/when it airs sometime in 2022.