Marvel’s Luke Cage made its first appearance at the San Diego Comic Con on Thursday. Luke Cage was originally introduced to audiences in Marvel’s Jessica Jones last year but has gone on to lead his own ensemble of characters.
The panel was moderated by the Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb and consisted of showrunner Cheo Coker, and actors Mike Colter, Alfre Woodard, Theo Rossi, Mahershala Ali, Simone Missick and Frank Whaley.
This is what we learnt at the panel:
1. Harlem is like one of the characters
When describing why she chose to do this show, Alfre Woodard said that she loved the fact that the Harlem that Luke Cage is set in is just as it is in real life and it became almost like one of the characters in the show. “Everything that made Harlem what it has been through the decades is there,” Woodard said.
2. The music is a big factor in the show
Even listening to the music in the trailer we can’t help but get into the mood and ready for Luke Cage to grace our screens. Every episode has been named after a Gangstarr song and Coker, who was one of the first and last people to interview the legendary Notorious B.I.G for Vibe said, “It’s kind of what I’d call the Wu Tang-ification of the Marvel universe,” he said. “It’s got an attitude, a flavor, a grit, but it’s elegant at the same time…I wanted the 13 episodes to feel almost like an album. Binge watching is the only thing where you sit down and there’s a rhythm to everything that’s connected.”
3. Shades is the Littlefinger of Luke Cage
Theo Rossi’s character, Shades, was described as the ‘Littlefinger’ of the show, refencing the very calculative villain in Game of Thrones. Rossi said Shades is the ‘ultimate opportunist’ and said he watched Daredevil for inspiration of how to act blind.
4. Detective Misty Knight is the ultimate badass
Simone Missick takes on the role of the iconic Misty Knight who is incredibly popular in the comics. Missick assures that fans of Misty Knight will be incredibly pleased with her live action version. “This is this iconic woman who is so strong and self-assured and determined, and to see a woman who is her own person — she’s not the wife, she’s not the girlfriend, she’s not somebody’s sidepiece or sidekick, she is absolutely her own thing.”
5. The script is extremely smart
Both Alfre Woodard and Frank Whaley praised Cheo Coker’s script as to why they were so excited to begin work on Luke Cage. Woodard said it was ““one of the smartest scripts I’ve read” while Whaley commented, “The script transported me to another place. I’m thrilled to be part of it.”
Watch the panel here:
Watch the full trailer here:
Marvel’s Luke Cage will stream on Netflix from September 30th