As much as we'd like to believe otherwise, we're still two long and arduous months away from putting on something wildly comfortable and sitting down for many hours with Netflix's latest Marvel comic drama Luke Cage. Speaking of completely appropriate clothing, the series' super-showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker recently spoke about what fans can expect from the show as far as Luke Cage's look goes, and fans will probably be disappointed to hear that the show won't be too faithful to the hero's signature costume from the source material. Here's how Coker put it.
What Marvel didn't want [as showrunner] is the fanboy that says, 'Luke can only wear yellow!' They wanted somebody who was gonna respect the evolution of the character, but at the same time tweak it in their own special way.
Well ain't that some shit? I mean, it probably wouldn't be wise to get extremely outraged by this, considering Luke Cage is known for wearing a bright yellow shirt and boots that aren't intrinsically tied into his impenetrable skin or super-strength. If it was a utility belt or a particular mask or some kind getting changed around, that might have been enough to get me to howl in protest, or if we had no idea what to anticipate from Luke Cage, and the costume was the only thing tying the show to our comic expectations.
But we know exactly what to expect from Mike Colter as the face-smashing Luke Cage, thanks to Season 1 of Jessica Jones, and he proved in that show that he didn't have to be wearing anything at all to command attention. Still, I can cop to the fact that it is more important to pay more attention to the character's comic history on his own show more than on someone else's.
Technically, Coker never said to Empire that Luke Cage definitely wouldn't be wearing any yellow shirts over the course of Season 1, so it could definitely still happen in some feasible way. Maybe the evolution he spoke about is an actual suit, similar to Daredevil's, that beams as bright as a thousand bananas. Or maybe there's a throwaway scene where he sees someone else wearing a yellow top and considers how it would look on him before he shakes the idea off. This is Marvel, after all, a studio that has never once hesitated to deliver groan-worthy references to balance the cheer-worthy ones. Another possibility is that he'll be seen wearing one of his other non-yellow costumes from the comics. There are many ways for this to go down that don't inspire gloom.
Fans finally got a couple of really good looks at Season 1 of Luke Cage when Marvel went heavy on the trailer releases at Comic-Con this past weekend. The official trailer was a total hoot, amping up the action and the slick style of the Harlem-based drama. The stacked cast, some of which we still haven't met yet, also includes Alfre Woodard, Mahershala Ali, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Frank Whaley and Sônia Braga, along with Erik LaRay Harvey playing the villainous Diamondback. As well, Rosario Dawson will reprise her role of Nurse Claire Temple at some point in the season.
With or without the titular hero's signature outfit in play, Luke Cage Season 1 will pummel its way onto Netflix on Friday, September 30, at 12:00 a.m. PT. And get ready, because there's a lot more Marvel coming to the streaming service in the future. To see everything else heading to TV later this year, check out our fall premiere schedule.
