Marvel Studios is currently batting a thousand on Netflix, having completely nailed gritty street level adventures with Daredevil and Jessica Jones earlier this year. However, we’ve only reached the halfway mark on the way towards seeing the full roster of The Defenders get their own series. Next up is Luke Cage, and according to star Mike Colter, the series will certainly stand out against its peers.
Colter went into detail regarding how his character and his solo series will feel different from what Marvel has already done on Netflix in an interview with Collider. Here's what he said.
Jessica’s storyline is so different from Daredevil’s storyline. Daredevil’s storyline is so different from mine. There’s a social aspect involved with Luke Cage, there is a criminal element involved, and there is a procedural element involvement. We focus on a variety of different things. I think it will be a surprise. I don’t know if we’ll be taking things to the next level because Jessica did such a great job. I don’t know what to expect, as far as the response, but I know it’s going to be different.
There exist certain fundamental differences to these characters that almost guarantee they will seem distinct from one another. With regards to Jessica Jones – whose titular heroine isn’t exactly the most approachable or likeable person – Luke Cage could be considered a much more respected member of the community that people can turn to when they need help. The central conflict of Jessica Jones was also smaller in scale, focusing on a personal battle between her and the obsessive Kilgrave, while Luke Cage’s will see him do battle with the criminal underworld on a larger scale. Jessica Jones was a great platform to introduce Luke Cage to audiences as a character, but ultimately that sort of series is not what the character needs to tell a story true to his own origin and spirit.
On the other hand, while Matt Murdock also took on the criminal underworld in Daredevil, it seems that the way Luke Cage goes about it in his series will differ from what has already been done. Daredevil uses a secret identity; he fights crime from the shadows and the courtroom, which is not something Luke Cage really needs to do – see: unbreakable skin. He’s the sort of badass who can fight crime in broad daylight with impunity – after all; the character’s origins are very much a product of the Blaxploitation era, a time when characters like Shaft were popular.
So it looks as thought Marvel is opting not to take the safe route and merely recycle what they know already works. Luke Cage’s solo series is expected to become available on Netflix sometime in 2016.
