Mike Colter, Netflix’s Luke Cage, made a big splash at Empire Live today. He came, gave generously of his time, chatted about his bulletproof superhero and filled the fans in on the newest developments in Hell’s Kitchen and Harlem. In return, he got a bottle of water and an introduction to the term “rumpy-pumpy”. (Well, it seemed like a fair exchange at the time.)
Before heading to Harlem to debut the Cage standalone series, Colter seemed pretty buzzed to be introducing some footage from the show direct to its fanbase. “It’s like a mini Comic-Con,” he enthused. “It’s fun to be around these fans, who are loyal and passionate. They live for this stuff.”
Unsurprisingly, major reveals on The Defenders were thin on the ground – the team-up is still to be introduced and Cage hasn’t even laid eyes on a script – but he did share some ideas on where he’d like it to go. “I’m hoping [The Defenders] touch bases on all the different parts of the city we’ve explored in all the different series. I’m hoping it will shoot in Harlem. If there’s anything going on in Harlem, Luke’s gonna go and take care of it.”
On the possibility of overlap between the Marvel TV universe and the MCU, Colter could only speculate. “When and if it happens, I’d be very happy to do it,” he said, while pointing out the issues that keep it a distant prospect. “We’re trying to tell a story that’s character-driven,” he stressed, “and not so much about the CG, the fight scenes and all the things that people go into cinemas to see. We’re trying to tell a smaller story. Logistically-speaking, we have scheduling conflicts.”
So will he declare allegiance in the MCU rift between Stark and Cap? “I went to the premiere where you wore red or blue, depending on who you were supporting,” he said. “I wore a blue suit and a red tie. I feel that Luke Cage is a hero-for-hire, though, so it’d be ‘who’s paying more?’.” He didn’t opt for yellow, then? “Not yellow. I did wear yellow before, but not that time.”
Luke Cage lands on Netflix on 30 September. For much more on the show, pick up the new issue of Empire on 29 September.
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