James R | On 19, Oct 2017

Earlier this month, Netflix released a new photo of Luke Cage Season 2, featuring not only Mike Colter’s hero, but also Finn Jones’ Iron Fist.

If that might have seemed like a weird pairing before The Defenders saw the duo become friends – the bulletproof Black man calling out the white rich man’s self-centered privilege – Hell’s Kitchen has already seen the pair team up in the comics to become the “Heroes for Hire”.

The photo sparked hope among fans that the Heroes for Hire would make it to the screen officially. Now, Colter has gone on the record to give an idea of how these two superhero shows will be overlapping in the coming seasons.

“There are people that love the idea of Heroes for Hire,” he said, in an exclusive interview with Black Film. “When people saw The Defenders, they thought the relationship was good between Finn and I and they are curious. They want to see more of that.”

Colter teased that the two are “teamed up for a bit”, saying that Rand’s presence will “bring some fresh blood in the new season”.

“That’s what good about it,” he added. “We’re giving people what they want. A lot of times people wanted to see Jessica Jones and Luke and what happens to them; but we went out on a limb and decided ‘Let’s give a little Heroes for Hire somewhere in the season and see what happens’. Hopefully people will respond to it.”

There is no talk of a separate standalone miniseries crossover at present, although some will likely hope it might one day materialise. As for whether Luke Cage will appear in any of the other Hell’s Kitchen stories, Colter remained firmly tight-lipped.

Luke Cage Season 2 is currently filming, with a release date expected in 2018.

“We’re not finished filming yet and after that, it’s based on timing and when they want to drop it,” he commented. “It’s like a record. ‘When do you want to drop it?'”

 

Iron Fist will appear in Luke Cage Season 2

7th October
Iron Fist will appear in Luke Cage Season 2, Marvel has revealed.

The odd couple – white rich dude Danny Rand (Finn Jones) and bulletproof Black man Luke Cage (Mike Colter) – seemed like the world’s unlikeliest pairing before The Defenders came along. During that crossover series, the duo become surprisingly natural friends, as the latter corrected and called out the former’s self-centred privilege at every turn. For fans of the comics, though, Hell’s Kitchen has already seen the pair team up to become the “Heroes for Hire”.

Colter has already spoken about how the second season will expand upon The nature of being a superhero whose identity is public: “It’s very different. He’s out. People know what he looks like. He’s not in any kind of disguise. People know where he lives. They know where to find him so its something he has to deal with. Most superheroes don’t have to deal with that and can kind of keep it separate.”

Marvel has only released a single image of the two face to face, so there is no confirmation yet that Heroes for Hire will feature in Luke’s Cage sophomore outing, but The Defenders has significantly strengthened the crossover ties between each series: while Luke returned to Harlem and Danny agreed to help protect the city, Simone Missick’s Misty Knight (one of the best things about Luke Cage Season 1) joins Rosario Dawson’s Claire in forming a bridge between the two shows, as the Rand Corporation funded some impressive hospital work that has put Misty firmly on the path towards a partnership with Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick, the best thing about Iron Fist Season 1).

With Missick confirmed as appearing in Iron Fist’s second season, the prospect of two double acts appearing over each show’s second season is not only promising but also seems increasingly likely.

 

Misty Knight packs a punch in first image from Luke Cage Season 2

30th August 2017

Warning: Spoilers follow for The Defenders

The first picture from Luke Cage Season 2 has landed – and it promises a powerful new direction for Misty Knight.

Simon Missick’s cop has been one of the best supporting characters to appear in the Netflix Marvel universe, stealing scenes in Luke Cage’s first season and doing the same again in The Defenders. The latter proved especially fateful, as it saw her arm sliced off in a climactic fight with The Hand.

Afterwards, Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) told her that no expense would be spared in her treatment, as Danny Rand owns the hospital she was admitted to – and this photo suggests that Rand really wasn’t kidding. Because yes, Power Man may be strolling with the confidence of an unbreakable man, but Misty? She’s got a bionic arm.

The upgrade puts Misty firmly in line with her comic book character, who, according to the original comics, got the arm from Tony Stark’s people, giving her superhuman strength and other cool ability. Netflix, though, has made a point of departing from the source material to deliver something more modern and grounded. What does seem likely, though, is that the comics double act of a Colleen and Misty is on the cards. Called Daughters of the Dragon, the part-detective, part-bounty hunting team (official name: Knightwing Restorations Ltd.) has been hoped for by fans since Missick was announced last year as appearing in Iron Fist’s second season.

The picture arrives as the world awaits The Punisher’s spin-off from Daredevil – and if Frank Castle can get a solo outing, who’s to say Misty Knight can’t too?

 

Filming begins on Luke Cage Season 2

9th June 2017

Filming has kicked off on Season 2 of Luke Cage.

The Netflix Marvel series, which premiered last year, was promptly picked up for a second run, as the streaming and comic book giants build their screen universe of Hell’s Kitchen heroes. Indeed, Jessica Jones is also returning for a sophomore run, while Daredevil has already had a second season, even leading to a spin-off solo show for The Punisher in the process.

Progress on any of those, though, has been halted by production on The Defenders, the crossover event series that premieres in August. With summer upon us, though, and with The Punisher reportedly set for a November release, work is moving forward once more on Luke Cage’s new season.

Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker has promised more “bulletproof dopeness” of the show’s return, also noting in a recent interview that it will focus increasingly on Cage’s public persona.

“It’s very different. He’s out. People know what he looks like. He’s not in any kind of disguise. People know where he lives. They know where to find him so its something he has to deal with. Most superheroes don’t have to deal with that and can kind of keep it separate.”

Now, On Location Vacations has confirmed that Season 2 began filming on Tuesday 6th June in New York City – more specifically, Broadway Stages in Brooklyn – potentially under the same code name as Season 1: Tiara. For those eagerly awaiting Cage’s return, then, that second season just took a big step closer.

 

Luke Cage Season 2 to explore hero’s public life

2nd June 2017

Marvel’s Netflix universe continues to build this year, with the crossing over of Hell’s Kitchen’s heroes in The Defenders and the debut of The Punisher’s spin-off series. But work is already afoot on the next phase of the small screen super-stories – and for Luke Cage, the next chapter in his story will see him take on another enemy entirely: publicity.

Luke Cage Season 2 will explore what it’s like to live as a superhero with no secret identity, Mike Colter has revealed. Speaking at Houston’s Comicpalooza, he spoke about how Cage’s public persona will dictate a lot of the show’s direction, as the programme seems to follow up on the Season 1 finale, which teased people coming to Power Man for help.

“It’s something that we’ll explore in the Defenders and hopefully in Season 2 of Cage which I start very soon,” he commented. “It’s very different. He’s out. People know what he looks like. He’s not in any kind of disguise. People know where he lives. They know where to find him so its something he has to deal with. Most superheroes don’t have to deal with that and can kind of keep it separate.”

That theme is inevitable, following the extremely public nature of Season 1’s Diamondback fight, and will come as a relief to comic book fans, with the issue also playing a central part of Luke’s narratives on the page.

Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker has also given some hint of what to expect from the show’s second run – using, naturally, music references, as the former music journo builds on the acoustic vibe that was established as such a key part of the series’ identity.

“Just bulletproof dopeness!” he told Mashable. “That’s what I want to maintain. I’m hoping that people continue to really enjoy the flavor of the show, and that it feels like a real Harlem and a real New York, but at the same time, has that Marvel twist — the Marvel twist with Netflix’s reach. That’s really this combination of all those factors that I think made Season 1 really a great ride, and hopefully we can maintain that same feel.

“The analogy I say is that, I want Season 2 to be The Low End Theory. Low End Theory, if you’re a hip hop fan, you know that that’s A Tribe Called Quest’s second record. The first record, Instinctive Travels, was great, but then Low End Theory was the record that everyone says … when they think of A Tribe Called Quest taking it to the next level. That’s my hope for Season 2, is that we have some of the similar sounds, but we go in a deeper direction. So I’m hoping that we avoid the sophomore jinx in that, because we know what we have in Mike, because we know what we have in our cast, that we’re just pushing deeper.”

Music will “always be an important element” of Cage, Coker added. “That’s how I write. I write from the music. I’m not going to quite reveal yet what I’m listening to. I love how these are at least one of the things I wanted my show to feel like. I wanted my show to essentially be what I would call bulletproof Lemonade. It’s almost like a musical tone poem, but it also tells a superhero story.”

Before Luke Cage Season 2, though, Cage will appear in The Defenders this August. Coker also used the Wu-Tang Clan to explain how Power Man will fit into the crossover dynamic.

“It’s like the Wu-Tang,” he added. “You’ve got the Wu-Tang Clan record, which is what The Defenders represents. Say that Luke Cage is Ghostface, say that Jessica Jones is Method Man. It’s like they’re all kind of part of the same clique, but each record sounds different. So that’s really the analogy I would make, is that they acknowledge each other, but they’re not really dependent on each other. But because it’s the same crews, and the same family, the same feel, it’s all interconnected — but it doesn’t mean that one really dictates the direction of the other.”

“So that’s really one of the cool things about it is, as showrunners, we have kind of an open book with each other,” he continued. What’s really cool is that I’ve seen The Defenders, and you guys have to wait!”

For more on The Defenders, click here – or to catch up with our reviews of Luke Cage, click here.

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