While we will be seeing both Daredevil and A.K.A. Jessica Jones on our screens this year, via Marvel and Netflix, at least one of their colleagues in the planned connected Defenders shows won’t be joining them just yet. Marvel has announced that Luke Cage will premiere next year and that Cheo Hodari Coker will be the man in charge of the series.
Mike Colter is already cast as Cage, and while his series won’t be on screen until 2016, the character will make appearances in A.K.A. Jessica Jones, as the pair in the comics has a deep connection.
After an early life of crime and danger on the streets, Cage (born Carl Lucas) ends up in prison when one of his friends betrays him. Recruited for an experiment, he’s injected with a cell regeneration chemical taken from the super soldier serum. A crooked guard tampers with the machinery injecting him, but it gives Lucas incredibly boosted strength and durability. Adopting his new alias, he escapes from prison and tries his luck as a hero for hire.
Coker most recently worked on Liev Schreiber series Ray Donovan and has in the past served in various writing/producing capacities on shows such as Southland and Almost Human. Trained as a journalist, he’s also written books and penned the script for 2009 rap biopic Notorious. He’ll write the first two episodes of the Cage series and essentially guide its future development.
The first of the Marvel/Netflix collaborations, Daredevil, will be on screens on April 10.