Premise

When Luke Cage becomes a fugitive attempts at rebuilding his life in Harlem, he has a passion for the future . ^[1]

Cast and characters

• Mike Colter as Luke Cage :
  Former convict Carl Lucas was given superhuman strength and unbreakable skin, and now fights crime under the name Luke Cage. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} Colter portrayed the character differently in the series than he had previously in Marvel’s Jessica Jones , explaining, “You’re not always the same person … Necessarily behave the same way around your mom as you would with your wife or your boss “. ^[6] The character uses his signature catch phrase ‘Sweet Christmas’ from the comics in the series, ^[7] but sparingly, with the character often “opting instead for pensive silence”; Composer Adrian Younge said, “He’s a black superhero, But he has a different type of black alpha male. He’s not bombastic. ^[9] David Austin and Clifton Cutany portray a young and teenage Lucas, respectively. ^[9] Colter put on 30 pounds (14 kg) of muscle for the role .
• Mahershala Ali as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes :
  The owner of the Harlem’s Paradise nightclub and the cousin of Mariah Dillard who deals in illegal operations. ^{[10] [11] [12]} Ali described Stokes as “a Godfather-typevillain”, ^[13] while Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb referred to him as “the other hero of the story”, continuing the tradition of Marvel Netflix villains Wilson Fisk and Kilgrave . ^[14] Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker , a music journalist, said that the attitude of rapper Biggie Smalls particularly influenced his version of Cottonmouth. ^[14] [15] Ali took the role knowing that Stokes would die in the series, saying the experience “was like shooting a film … I found myself excited by a character’s departure Could give my all for a period of time before saying ‘peace’ to him ‘. ^[16] Elijah Boothe portrays a young Stokes.
• Simone Missick as Misty Knight :
  A Harlem NYPD Detective with a strong sense of justice, who is determined to learn about Cage. ^[17] [18] Missick said, “She’s her own person.” She’s not the woman. “She’s not a girlfriend. ^[14] Missick described Misty Knight as “a person who has a very strong moral compass who is absolutely dedicated to protecting her community”, adding her proudest moment in playing the character, … [with] our current times, it’s difficult to believe in the system. ” ^[19] In the series, Knight has what is called a “superpower” referred to as ‘Misty Vision’ which allows her to look at a crime scene and deduce what happened.
• Theo Rossi as Hernan “Shades” Alvarez :
  A relentless, menacing, smooth and manipulative, street smart criminal working for Diamondback with ties to Cage’s past. ^{[18] [21] [22] [23]} Loeb called Expired Shades “kind of the Littlefinger of Luke Cage “, “the ultimate opportunist”. ^[14]
• Erik LaRay Harvey as Willis Stryker / Diamondback :
  A powerful arms dealer who is a half-brother and the one who frames him for the crime that punches him to Seagate Prison. ^[24] [25] Harvey talked about the character’s illegitimacy, saying, “My character had been called a bastard his whole life. Rug? That’s what drives Willis … He gets sent away because of his father’s actions and then once he’s in the jail system, he just gets tortured after all that his mind has been twisted and warped and he’s developed this sensitivity that’s almost psychopathic. ” Cage’s name, which is “just his way of dealing with his bread.” He smiles through his bread. “
• Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple :
  A training nurse in Hell’s Kitchen, with friendship with Cage will affect both of their lives. Dawson covers her role from the previous Marvel Netflix series. ^[18] [22]“Because she plays a nurse that basically seems to be in the right place at the right time, and she’s very good at helping out superheroes who are in need, and I think you will see some of that in Luke Cage , “said Colter. “Ultimately I think she’s going to be a very good companion for Luke. I think she’s someone that Luke needs in her life at this time.” ^[26]
• Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard :
  A local councilwoman and Stokes’ cousin looking to bring change to Harlem, whose life is “thrown into turmoil” by the actions of Cage and Stokes. ^[1] [14] Though Dillard is not necessarily a criminal herself, she does feel a responsibility to her family, including Stokes. ^[21] Woodard, who lives in Harlem, was convinced to join the project after Coker proved his love of Harlem and its culture. ^[8] The series’ version of the character is’ Black Mariah ‘as a nickname. It is ultimately used by Stokes as a personal insult from their past growing up together, in retaliation to Dillard verbally attacking him.

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2

In December 2016, Netflix renewed the series for a second season. ^[28] Filming for the second season Began in June 2017. ^[29] In July 2016, Netflix COO Ted Sarandos Said que la season Would not start up to 2018 at the Earliest, after- Marvel’s The Defenders released on August 18, 2017. ^{[30 ] [31]}

Production

Development

In May 2013, Marvel Studios reacquired the rights to Luke Cage from Sony Pictures Entertainment / Columbia Pictures , ^[32] after a feature film had been in development at Columbia since 2003, ^[33] to no avail. By October 2013, Marvel Television Was prepaid oven drama series and a miniseries, totaling 60 episodes, to present to video on demand services and cable providers, with Netflix , Amazon , and WGN Americaconjunctival phrase interest. ^[34] A few weeks later, Marvel and Disney announced that Marvel Television and ABC Studios would provide Netflix with live action series centered around Luke Cage, Daredevil , Jessica Jones , and Iron Fist , leading up to a miniseries based on the Defenders . ^[35]

Marvel Began Their search for a showrunner in 2014, ^[36] and in late March 2015, Netflix and Marvel annoncé Cheo Hodari Coker fait que le titre Revealed and role of the series to be Marvel’s Luke Cage . ^[37] Coker was inspired to become the showrunner series “when he realized the ramifications of a series about a black man with impenetrable skin and how that might empower him to take both criminals and crooked figures”; ^[36] he pitched the series to Netflix as an examination of Harlem, “like what The Wire did for Baltimore.” ^[8] Charles Murray, Alison Engel, Allie Goss, Kris Henigman, Cindy Holland, Alan Fine , Stan Lee , Joe Queseda , Dan Buckley and Jim Chory also serve as executive producers. ^[38] The series was originally intended to be the fourth of the announced series of Netflix, debuting after Marvel’s Iron Fist , but it was fast-tracked to the third series, after Cage was introduced in Marvel’s Jessica Jones and became a breakout star , With Marvel wanting to “follow the momentum”. ^[39] Marvel’s Iron Fist , Marvel’s Iron Fist , and Marvel’s Jessica Jones . ^[39] Marvel’s Iron Fist , Marvel’s Iron Fist , and Marvel’s Jessica Jones . ^[39]

In December 2016, Netflix renewed the series for a second season. ^[28]

Writing

Charles Murray, Kayla Cooper and Nathan Jackson served as writers on the series. ^[40] Coker noted that the majority of the series’ African-American writers, “a rarity on television. ^[8] After marking the first two scripts of both Marvel’s Daredevil and Jessica Jones . ^[41] Actor Mike Colter described the series as having “soul” and “intensity”, compared to the “dark action” of Daredevil and the “black feel” of Jessica Jones . ^[42] Coker described “a powerful fusion of dark drama, hip-hop, and classic superhero action” while being ” The Wire of Marvel television, because we really deal with a lot of different issues.” ^[43] Jason Tanz of Wired likened the series to neo-blaxploitation , ^[36] which coker agreed with in that blaxploitation is just the black characters being able to assert themselves in a visual world, More specifically a ” Western hip-hop “, comparing its characters and setting to Sergio Leone ‘ S Dollars Trilogy of movies (with Cage the Man with No Name , for example). ^[41]

When Asked whether the series Would you feel “adult” as Jessica Jones , Colter Replied, “if you think Jessica is adult Then We’re still keeping up with that pace … we’ll continue along Those lines of PG-16 + “. ^[44] We know Luke Cage would address current race issues, including Black Lives Matter , given the character’s past (a wrongfully imprisoned black man), Colter said, “this is not necessarily the That he is going to be able to have a lot of people in law enforcement and on the street. ^[42] Loeb said on the issue, “Luke Cage, When it came to the scene in the early 70s was for all intents and purposes the first black superhero. ^{Given what’s going on today, it just resonates. “Coker stated that Cage is” someone who can touch and go to “, adding,” There’s never been a time in history when having a bulletproof black man ” [25]} Luke Cage was also the first MCU property to use the word ” nigger ” or ” nigga “, with Marvel having complete trust in Coker , Coker said the intent was never to use it “in a way where it’s flippant. I used it from the standpoint of,

Casting

By November 2014, Lance Gross , Colter, and Cleo Anthony were in contention for the role of Luke Cage, which was envisioned as a recurring role on Jessica Jones before headlining Luke Cage . ^[47] Colter was confirmed in the role the next month, as a series regular. ^[2] He signed on for the two series without reading any scripts. ^[48] In August 2015, Alfre Woodard , Who portrays Miriam Sharpe in the MCU movie Captain America: Civil War , ^[49] Was in talks to join the cast, ^[50] and The Following month She Was confirmed as a series regular, Portraying Mariah Dillard . ^[1] [14] Also in September annoncé have cast Were Theo Rossi as Shades, ^[18] [22] Simone Missick as Misty Knight , ^[17] [18] and Mahershala Ali as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes . ^[10] In November, Rosario Dawson was confirmed to be reprising her role of Claire Temple from previous MCU Netflix series. ^[18] [22] In March 2016, set photos revealed Erik LaRay Harvey had been cast as Willis Stryker / Diamondback . ^[24] Harvey ‘ The Sands of the Stryker ‘s “The Saints of the Saints”. ^[51] Colter, Rossi and Dawson will return for the second season. ^[29]

Design

Stephanie Maslansky, the costume designer for Daredevil and Jessica Jones , serves as designer costume for Luke Cage as well. The series sees Cage have a wardrobe evolution from his initial look of T-shirts, jeans, leather jackets or an army jacket that was introduced in Jessica Jones . ^[52] Maslansky took inspiration from the comics illustrations, as she did on the other Marvel Netflix series, but also looked at the “rich and colorful history of Harlem,” and Coker’s own vision. ^[53] In looking to pay homage to Cage’s original costume for his series, Maslansky and Coker considered “the idea of ​​him wearing a gold hoodie, a gold T-shirt,

Filming

Filming for the series takes place in New York City, ^[56] . Coker described the neighborhood as “the only place in the city where you see those wide boulevards.” We really wanted to capture the color, the rhythm of the streets. ” ^[57] For example, the production had the opportunity to film at a barbershop in Greenwich Village “that would be a little easier for us to shoot in”, but Coker said the opportunity to film it in Harlem was irresistible. Harlem and then not film in Harlem. ” ^[58] Sound stage work also takes place in New York. ^[59] Manuel Billeter serves as director of photography for the series, Jessica Jones and Jessica Jones . ^[60]

Visual effects

Visual effects for the series were completed by FuseFX, ^[61] with Greg Anderson serving as visual effects supervisor. ^[62]

Music

In April 2016, Coker revealed that Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad were composing the series’ score, describing it as a ’90s hip-hop vibe’ with a lot of different musical appearances. ^[43] Coker had contacted Younge and Muhammad separately, asking if they would like to work together on the album. ^[63] Younge and Muhammad took inspiration from Wu-Tang Clan , Ennio Morricone , and Muhammad’s group A Tribe Called Quest , ^[64] with Younge saying,

Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins

Luke Cage is the third of the ordered Netflix series after Daredevil and Jessica Jones , and was followed by Iron Fist , before leading into the miniseries, The Defenders . ^{[39] [67] [68]} In November 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that if the characters prove popular on Netflix, “It’s quite possible that they could become feature films,” ^[69] which was echoed by Sarandos in July 2015 . ^[70] In August 2014, Vincent D’Onofrio , Wilson Fisk in Daredevil , stated that after the series stuff with Netflix, Marvel has ” ^{A bigger plan to branch out. ” [71]} In March 2015, Loeb spoke on the ability to the series to crossover with the MCU films and the ABC television series , saying,” It all exists in the same universe. As it is now, in the same way that our films started out as self-contained and then by the time we got to the Avengers , it became more practical for Captain America to do a little crossover into Thor 2 and for Bruce Banner to appear At the end of Iron Man 3 . We have to earn that. “The audience needs to understand what all of these characters are and what the world is before you then start co-mingling in terms of where it’s going.”

Release

Luke Cage is available on the streaming services Netflix, in all territories Where It is available, ^[37] in Ultra HD 4K and high dynamic range . ^[73] The first season was enhanced to be available in HDR after its initial release by post-production vendor Deluxe . ^[74] The episodes of each season were released simultaneously, as opposed to a serialized format, to encourage binge-watching , which has been successful for other Netflix original series . ^[56] [59]