President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige (our lord and savior) has helped make comic book movies some of the most profitable films of all time. Feige cut his teeth in the early days before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was established. He produced such films as Spider-Man 2 and Fantastic Four, learning what worked and what didn’t work. Today he continues to guide the MCU, reaching new heights with every film. Both Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange were both smash hits and helped solidify the MCU’s new standard of quality first reached with Captain America: Winter Solider.
Feige has managed to cast an absurd amount of A-list talent in the MCU including Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford, Scarlett Johannson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tilda Swinton. As incredible as the cast of the MCU is, there’s one major problem. They are all white.
The upcoming Marvel’s Black Panther solo feature will begin to offset that trend with a cast that includes Chadwick Boseman, Forest Whitaker, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Angela Bassett. While speaking with Variety, Feige expressed the importance of moving forward with a more diverse cast and crew not just racially, but in terms of gender as well:
“When you look at “Black Panther” — when you look at “Captain Marvel,” which will be Brie Larson in the title role — it is a very important thing for us to have diversity both in front of the camera and behind the camera.”
On the subject of Captain Marvel which stars Brie Larson, Feige also added:
“Having a female director at the helm to tell the story of a woman who is also our most powerful hero by far is very important to us.”
While Hollywood and Marvel still have a long way to go, Marvel is already making strides as it recently announced every episode of season two of its female-led series, Jessica Jones will be directed by women.
This year also saw the release of season one of Luke Cage which featured a primarily African-American cast while at the same time remaining inclusive to every race. The series featured an Emmy-worthy performance from actress Alfre Woodard as well as Rosario Dawson and Simone Missick in major parts. But what was exceptional about the series set in Harlem was the way it took hip-hop culture and engrained it into the story, becoming an integral part of the narrative.
Production on The Defenders is currently underway. The show is shooting on location in New York city which means we are going to be seeing a lot of set photos snapped as the Marvel Netflix team-up series will be one of the most anticipated shows to hit Netflix in the coming year.
Just yesterday we got a look at Jessica Jones and Trish Walker reunited on a stroll in the concrete jungle and today, even more new photos have hit the web revealing a much-anticipated reunion between Luke Cage himself and fan favorite Detective Misty Knight. The photos show the two on the street, next to a car that has been burnt to a crisp as well as a shot of the two off camera looking to be taking a coffee break.
An official synopsis has yet to be released but it is known that the series will follow Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Finn Jones (Iron Fist) as they put their resources together and team-up to take on Sigourney Weaver who’s villainous character is still unknown at this point.
The series will also see the return of many cast members from the Netflix corner of the MCU including Elodie Yung (Elektra), Carrie-Anne Moss (Jeri Hogarth), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Eka Darville (Malcolm Ducasse), Scott Glenn (Stick), Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple), Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker) and Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing).
Today we have our first look at a photo of Misty in action as she holds a bloody Jessica up at gunpoint, captured just last night during filming thanks to ComingSoon.net.
Yesterday we got official confirmation that Misty Knight (Simone Missick) would be appearing in the Netflix Marvel team up series The Defenders along with a photo of Krysten Ritter on set as Jessica Jones.
Today we have our first look at a photo of Misty in action as she holds a bloody Jessica up at gunpoint, captured just last night during filming thanks to ComingSoon.net.
Little is known about Misty’s involvement as well as the plot at this point other than the series will see the street level heroes putting their resources together and joining forces to take on an unknown villain played by Sigourney Weaver.
Head on over to ComingSoon.net to check out the full gallery of photos captured from last night’s shoot.
The Defenders is set to hit Netflix sometime in 2017.
Deborah Ann Woll, who was first introduced as Karen Paige in Marvel’s Netflix series Dardevil, has already been spotted on set filming for the upcoming series The Punisher and is now officially confirmed to appear in The Defenders, which will serve as a follow-up to the upcoming Iron Fist series and is currently filming. Along with Woll, Simone Missick who played the breakout fan favorite character Misty Knight in Luke Cage will also be making her presence known in the team up series.
Deborah Ann Woll, who was first introduced as Karen Paige in Marvel’s Netflix series Dardevil, has already been spotted on set filming for the upcoming series The Punisher and is now officially confirmed to appear in The Defenders, which will serve as a follow-up to the upcoming Iron Fist series and is currently filming.
The Defenders will feature the street level heroes of Marvel putting together their resources and teaming up against Sigourney Weaver, who’s character is still unknown at this point.
Along with Woll, Simone Missick who played the breakout fan favorite character Misty Knight in Luke Cage will also be making her presence known in the team up series.
In addition to this confirmation via the series official twitter account, Krysten Ritter has been spotted on set sporting her signature leather jacket as the badass Jessica Jones, one of the four main heroes in The Defenders.
Sweet Christmas. Harlem’s hero is here and its about damn time. The new Marvel Netflix series Luke Cage made it’s debut over the weekend, crashing Netflix’s servers along with it. The bulletproof superhero is a well-written, well-cast series that continues to push the bounds of what is achievable on television. Mike Colter is a force as Luke. He wasn’t just playing Luke Cage. He is Luke Cage.
A hero meant to inspire hope and the battle for Harlem’s soul.
Sweet Christmas. Harlem’s hero is here and it’s about damn time. The new Marvel Netflix series Luke Cage made its debut over the weekend, crashing Netflix’s servers along with it. The bulletproof superhero is a well-written, well-casted series that continues to push the bounds of what is achievable on television. Mike Colter is a force as Luke. He wasn’t just playing Luke Cage. He is Luke Cage.
The first episode takes its time introducing us to the world of Harlem and the culture that is integral to the show. This is the first Marvel series that feels as if it not only takes place in our world, Luke Cage is now.
By the end of episode two, the story kicked into high gear and Luke began his journey to become a hero. The loss of Pops (Frankie Faison) was tragic but necessary. Luke needed his call to action and there couldn’t have been a more powerful way of thrusting him into the center of the drama. Luke knew the only way to shut down Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali) was to destroy him one piece at a time until there was nothing left. But you could tell the clock was already ticking for the villains. These gangsters were doing a good enough job at tearing each other apart. Luke helped accelerate their downfall.
Mike Colter as Luke Cage. (Netflix)
The fourth episode was no doubt one of the best in the series. The flashbacks were seamlessly integrated with the present day storyline and featured some incredible editing in the sequence where Luke punched his way out of prison in the past and the rubble in the present.
The villains of the show are a mixed bag but for the most part positive. Theo Rossi is a talented actor, however. His performance as Shades wasn’t that great at first. I don’t think he realized it, but the moment he stepped into the room with Mahershala Ali, he was gobbled up by Ali’s talent. Rossi was cheesy and seemed out of place. But as the episodes went on, especially once he started having scenes with Alfre Woodard, he evolved and elevated his performance to the same level as the cast around him.
Mahershala Ali as Cottonmouth gives Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk a run for his money. He was brilliantly unpredictable as the suave gangster at the top of Harlem. His sense of humor provided a levity that made him likable so when it came time for his origin story you truly felt for him. It’s hard not to feel sorry for the guy. It didn’t matter how high he rose in power; he would always be standing on that balcony looking down on the club’s musicians with envy. What moved me most about his character was the look of admiration in his eye whenever Luke was in the room. Luke possessed the integrity that he lost forever when he was forced to murder his Uncle.
Mahershala Ali as Cornell Stokes A.K.A. Cottonmouth. (Netflix)
Where the series faltered was the way in which its criminals were handled. Cottonmouth was dangerous. His goons, not so much. They were cheesy and it takes you out of the gritty realism that is present throughout much of the show. They sure did some shady stuff out in the daytime huh? But in a way that cheese factor helped lend itself to a Marvel meets The Wire sort of feel.
Alfre Woodard was exceptional as she played Mariah Dillard with tremendous conviction. As corrupt and as criminal as she was, I had so much respect for how far she was willing to go to improve Harlem. It was truly shocking when she murdered her cousin Cottonmouth. Nobody expected his death so early. It was disappointing to see such a talent exit with six episodes left to go but it made sense. Cottonmouths death was crucial to the destabilization of the criminal climate in Harlem. The show would have also risked feeling overcrowded with villains if he was still in the mix once Diamondback finally made his debut.
Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard in Luke Cage. (Marvel/Netflix)
The midpoint of this series was unbelievable. From Luke being shot to Cottonmouths death, it was twist after twist after twist. My head was spinning. It felt like anything could happen at that point. No one was safe.
As grounded as this series was, even with super strength and cellular regeneration in the mix, it was the introduction of bullets made from alien technology that helped take this show to the next level while still remaining inherently street. Episode six felt like it could have been a finale but the twists of the sixth, seventh, and eighth installments helped set a new stage and rejuvenate the series’ life for the final five episodes, making this one of the most binge-worthy shows ever. (Daredevil should take note of this.)
The final five episodes were exceptional. We got to fully discover Luke’s backstory in Georgia and out came the heartbreaking truth about Reva. It had been frustrating me that we didn’t know more about the history of these characters as I was watching but the brilliant writers held back, waiting for the perfect moments to dole out the truth of the past, having the most impactful effect possible on the present.
Luke coming to the understanding that he wasn’t in love with Reva, rather he was infatuated with the idea of Reva was probably the most real moment in the entire show. Luke is good, though. He and Claire are already Mom and Dad.
The dynamic between Misty Knight and her Lieutenant was also impressive. Instead of Misty butting heads with the L.T. for the duration of the series, instead, she began to learn from her superior and grew because of it. Without that, I don’t think Misty would have been able to survive the series. Thank god she did because she is amazing. The way she was edited back into the crime scenes for her visions was incredible.
The end of the series was incredibly powerful and inspirational as a bulletproof black man in a hoodie became a hero. Luke battled for his and Harlem’s soul in the street with Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey), sporting a hammer tech suit that was a perfect adaption of his look from the comics. Diamondback was scary and entertaining but I thought he overplayed most of the time, however. He did come to play ball in the climactic showdown with Luke. The action in the Netflix corner of the MCU isn’t as epic as the feature films but that’s what makes it stand out. It’s raw and the fights are much more creative and artistic with the stunts and camera operation. How awesome was it when Luke delivered that last hit launching Diamond back into the air and leaving him nothing more but a broke ass?
What I loved the most about the finale is that all of the villains who were alive at the beginning were still alive at the end. In Luke Cage, the bad guys can win. We can assume we’ll see the return of Mariah Dillard and Diamondback in the inevitable second season.
Luke is heading back to prison but we know that isn’t going to last.
Luke Cage comes at a time when a bulletproof black man couldn’t be any more relevant. Speaking with students at Morgan State University on Thursday, Showrunner Cheo Hodari Choker discussed the shows ‘inclusive blackness’.
Luke Cage comes at a time when a bulletproof black man couldn’t be any more relevant. Speaking with students at Morgan State University on Thursday, Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker discussed the shows ‘inclusive blackness.’
I see ‘Luke Cage’ as what I call ‘inclusive blackness.’ When I say that the show is ‘inclusively black.’ I mean that it is a deep meditation on our culture, but it’s done in such a way that when people watch the show, they don’t feel like they’re excluded from the story or the experience of watching the story.
The show features a mostly African-American cast and it’s incredibly refreshing. Even though the show is dealing with superpowers, theres something about it that feels more true to life than anything else Marvel has done in the past.
Coker also commented on the current state of racism in Hollywood.
The racism in Hollywood is not usually just ‘Oh, you’re black, you can’t do it.’ The new racism is not getting the benefit of the doubt, meaning that you’re not considered for projects because you’re black.
My hope is that the show will be looked back on as a milestone in entertainment history. One that paved the way for superheroes of all races leading their own films or television shows.
I’m currently nine episodes deep into the series and thoroughly enjoying it. Mike Colter is fantastic as Luke and Misty Knight(Simone Missick) is sure to be the fan favorite, however. The stand out performances are coming from the antagonists Mariah Stokes (Alfre Woodard) and Cornell Stokes a.k.a. Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali).
Alternate World 