Mike Colter Finally Returning To The MCU As Luke Cage?
Mike Colter has stated that he has not been contacted about returning as Luke Cage, but he is open to it.
Before Disney+ was a glimmer in Bob Iger’s eye, there was the Netflix Marvel shows Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and The Punisher. After the shows were canceled, many of the characters (and their respective actors) were never heard from again in the MCU. But with Charlie Cox returning as Daredevil, we’ve now heard that Luke Cage actor Mike Colter is open to returning to his previous role, as he stated: “If somehow I get a call, my dance card is kind of full….but if I get a call, something happens, great.
In the interview, Mike Colter stated that he had a lot of fun with the role. Although his schedule is currently full with the Paramount+ TV series Evil and the upcoming film Murder City, that doesn’t mean that he’s against returning to the role of the superpowered hero for hire. However, it would all depend on whether he has time.
The Marvel series was extremely popular on Netflix. This was helped by the fact that the showrunners made full use of the interconnected nature of the Marvel universe to cross-promote. Mike Colter first appeared as Luke Cage in Jessica Jones before starring in his own series a year later.
While not all of Marvel’s Netflix shows were well-received, Luke Cage received a warm reception from critics and gathered an audience from a wide range of demographics. The series ran for two seasons, from 2016 until 2018. Mike Colter also played the character in the 2017 team-up series The Defenders.
When Disney+ launched in direct competition against Netflix, it became clear that the Netflix series’ days were number. Soon, Disney+ released its own suite of Marvel shows, the old series was pulled off Netflix, and the characters were, for the most part, never heard from again.
The appearance of Charlie Cox in Spider-Man: No Way Home along with the announcement of the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again TV series has had fans hoping for a return of more of the former Netflix stars. Rumors of Krysten Ritter returning as Jessica Jones and Jon Bernthal returning as Punisher have only increased these hopes, with many fans hoping to see Mike Colter fighting crime and corruption once more.
Unfortunately, Mike Colter finds it unlikely that the stars will align enough for him to play Luke Cage again. While he says he stays in shape “just because,” he emphasized that the role is in the “rearview mirror” for him.
Even if Mike Colter never returns to the role, that doesn’t mean that Marvel will never bring back the character. In fact, Colter believes that the character will be around for a long time. He says that he’s happy to have been a part of the character, and he’s also happy to let someone else take up the role.
“I’m happy, more than happy, to let someone else take on that mantle or that role. That character’s living on for a long time, said Colter. “Fans are going to have that character in one way, shape, or form for the rest of their lives, and I’m happy to have been a part of that for those guys.”
With phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe starting in February with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the franchise seems ready to fully explore the implications of a Marvel multiverse. With that, we’re bound to see plenty of callbacks to old Marvel franchises and previously unseen characters. If Mike Colter’s return as Luke Cage turns out to be one of those callbacks, then all the better.
