At the end of last year’s Jessica Jones, Luke Cage disappeared. Now, in a teaser for Marvel and Netflix’s upcoming series, we know where the big guy has been: hiding uptown at a barber shop, sweeping his days away.
“He goes uptown and he just wants to be left alone,” says Mike Colter, who plays Cage, in a featurette video released by Netflix on Tuesday. Showrunner Cheo Coker explains that for an ex-con, entry-level jobs like these are a blessing.
“But then, he finds Cottonmouth basically running Harlem.”
Cottonmouth is a mobster: His base of operations is Harlem’s Paradise, a nightclub that’s a front for his gun-running businesses. Cage — with special powers “he didn’t ask for” — in clear terms tells Cottonmouth to get out of Harlem: “He just can’t stand idly by when things happen.”
Cage utters one line that best sums up the character and his mission for the show. While staring up at Cottonmouth, Cage tells him: “I don’t want Harlem. I just want you to stop messing with it.” Cut to punching and bullets.
Cottonmouth enter Pop's Barber Shop.
In a year chock-full of superhero movies and TV shows, Marvel’s Luke Cage stands out as one of the most unique shows coming this fall. Standing apart from The Flash, Arrow, and even Marvel’s own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage looks the most atypical of the genre: no masks, no capes, and set within one of New York’s most overlooked neighborhoods. Bring it on.
Marvel’s Luke Cage hits Netflix on September 30.
