The era of the Defenders has come and gone and New York City still stands proud on a mass of metal and concrete. But a ballad of the heroes who strode in at the midnight hour to save the world and then receded back into the shadows is still sung in the farthest corners of the Marvel fandom. Among those heroes also resides Mike Colter’s Luke Cage whose fate does not look as bright as that of his contemporaries. With MCU already witnessing the return of Daredevil Rebranded, and Jessica Jones circling overhead, talks of Luke Cage have now occupied the mass consciousness.
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Mike Colter Addresses His Potential Return as Luke Cage
The Defenders actor, Mike Colter, has recently stated to Radio Times that the possibility of him reprising his role as Luke Cage is somewhat bleak, if not hopeless entirely. As such, even in the aftermath of Charlie Cox’s return, it seems as though the favoritism only extended to the blazing success and the audience’s obsessive attachment to the dramatic and bloody superhero. Colter states:
“I quite like doing other things. I appreciate the opportunity Luke Cage presented to me and it’s great, and I’m not saying that the door’s closed completely because you never know and never say never. But I’m particularly involved in the projects that I’m doing now, I’m looking forward, never looking back.
Whatever they do with that role, you know, Kevin Feige and the people at Marvel and Disney, they’ll do the right thing and fans will be happy about it and I’ll cheer for that person, if it’s a recast or whatever. I never think about it until someone asks me about it to be quite honest, but it’s not because I didn’t enjoy the opportunity. But just, I’m just always in the moment, not really thinking about the other stuff.”
Mike Colter’s recent reunion with Jessica Jones actress, Krysten Ritter, had also ignited some heavily-fueled rumors of the two returning to Marvel in their respective roles. But without substantial evidence further supporting those theories, the rumors died a quick death.
![Mike Colter [via Variety]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/26074621/Mike-Colter-via-Variety.jpg)
Does a Luke Cage Introduction in the MCU Make Sense?
In the mainstream Marvel continuity, there are heroes so diverse and dispersed that covering every base that the comics have done in the past 90 years is an impossible task. Among the select roster of characters that Kevin Feige elects to bring to the forefront have until now proven a major success. As such, his studio initiative with Netflix was also bound to do the same, albeit on a much smaller and contained scale. What Daredevil achieved was beyond measure and comprehension and his subsequent entry into the MCU was an inevitably pleasing experience.
But the same cannot be said about Mike Colter’s character. The relative popularity that Luke Cage experienced on Netflix is not transferrable to the cinematic universe and even if Marvel decided to bring along the street-level superhero to the multiversal arena, there is not an essential plotline that can support the narrative or place him in a mainframe scenario. On the other hand, the extensive brutality merged with the range of powers showcased by Charlie Cox’s character makes the character’s placement within the MCU logical, both as a lawyer for the superheroes and as one himself.
If Luke Cage does make his ultimate entry into the cinematic universe, it would surely draw some praise, although the role is most likely to appear within a small subplot or a cameo, serving as a catalyst to the original narrative’s progress. On the other hand, if there were to be a Defenders 2, needless to say – a return of the sass king would indeed be more than appreciated.
Marvel’s Defenders and Luke Cage are now available for streaming on Disney+.
Source: Radio Times
