There are not many characters created by Neil Gaiman that can be accused of lacking charisma. In fact, I can’t name one. Most people would be hard pressed if asked to select the single most charismatic character borne of Neil Gaiman’s genius but ponder no longer, television has our answer: Lucifer Morningstar.
Now, it’s no secret that Lucifer may be the single most interesting character present in mythology collectively, so it’s obviously no easy feat to make the character any more charming, and it must be just as tough to bring the Devil’s easy charm and incredible wit to the small screen… but they just did.
Scheduled to be aired on Fox in 2016 for the 2015-2016 season, Lucifer is the latest in a recent spate of pilots to be ‘accidentally’ leaked. And much like its fellow DC brethren, The Flash, Constantine and upcoming Supergirl, Lucifer holds up strong.
Related: Arrow and Flash – TV’s Dynamic Duo
Tom Ellis’s take on the Devil on earth is flawlessly executed with an incredible ease on the charm department with a strong dose of tortured commitment to punishing the sinful. While opening itself for criticism by not being completely faithful to the source material, it renders itself all the more efficient for the television medium. And Tom Ellis’ delivery of every hedonistically tinted syllable makes him so believable a devil that you’d find yourself believing him to be immortal as well.
Lauren German as Chloe Dancer, a homicide detective in the LAPD, and partner to the Morningstar, matches Ellis’ screen presence with her own tone of sarcasm. Honestly, this is one of those on screen relationships that would be better served as staying cautious as opposed to building up to the never-satisfying “will they, won’t they” rubbish that inevitably ruins every other procedural.
And while the rest of the supporting cast receive little screen time, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze (Mazikeen from the comics) is an interesting choice and would probably live up to the comics. The same can be said for D. B. Woodside as Amenadiel, who has no problem wielding a very imposing presence opposite Tom Ellis’ Lucifer. Also, Woodside doesn’t look a day older than he did in Buffy back in 2003… so he might actually be immortal.
And while comparisons to CW’s long running hit Supernatural are sure to be made, I think the bigger question is whether Lucifer might actually help in resurrecting NBC’s now dead Constantine
Nice little surprise coming today for #Constantine fans. Stay on the lookout.
— Daniel Cerone (@DanielVCerone) August 11, 2015
With supposed confirmation of Matt Ryan appearing on Arrow as Constantine, might it pave the way for the character to eventually appear on Lucifer as well? If anything, that would be the perfect fit. Also, who wouldn’t wanna see Matt Ryan and Tom Ellis debate… well, anything.
In all, given Fox’s abysmal attempt at adapting the Batman mythos with the increasingly mundane and borderline inane Gotham, Lucifer may be exactly what the network needs to participate in this trend of comic book adaptations.
Hope they don’t cancel this one. #CantStopTheSerenity