Marvel’s Luke Cage: Why Mike Colter is Unsure About His MCU Return

Following the appearance of Daredevil characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans have begun speculating about the appearances of the remaining Defenders. Charlie Cox played Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which served as a prelude to his upcoming solo series, Daredevil: Born Again. After his comeback in Hawkeye, Vincent D’Onofrio returned for the recent spin-off Echo and will also play Wilson Fisk in that series as part of Daredevil.

Following a creative revamp, Born Again has resumed filming. A video indicates Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll will return to their roles as Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, respectively. All of this is great news for fans of Marvel Netflix shows. Rumors indicate that the Marvel Cinematic Universe series will now see the return of Wilson Bethel as Bullseye. Kristen Ritter played Jessica Jones in the titular series. In a recent Instagram video, Ritter seems to allude to her comeback as Jessica Jones, raising the possibility that she will appear in the upcoming Disney Plus series Daredevil: Born Again. Using one of the character’s t-shirts, the actor posted a video to her Instagram account captioned “IYKYK [if you know you know]” complete with a winking emoji.

But one name is missing from the group. That person is none other than Finn Jones, who starred as Danny Rand / Iron Fist. Just kidding. That guy’s terrible, and I hope we never see him again.

No, I’m talking about Mike Colter, who played the superstrong bulletproof hero Luke Cage/Power Man. In 2018, Luke Cage was canceled on Netflix. It ran for two seasons and aired across 26 episodes between 2016 and 2018.

There has been speculation that the characters we see in Daredevil: Born Again are variations rather than identical replicas of those from the earlier series. This implies that even with Cox coming back as Daredevil, figures like Mike Colter’s Luke Cage might still be recast for the MCU.

Would Colter be mad if he was recast? Not at all. He’s been asked about returning since as early as 2019, and he’s been very consistent in his answer: maybe. “I quite like doing other things,” Colter told RadioTimes last year, admitting he doesn’t spend much time thinking of that character. “I appreciate the opportunity Luke Cage presented to me, and it’s great, and I’m not saying that the door’s closed completely because you never know and never say never. But I’m particularly involved in the projects that I’m doing now; I’m looking forward, never looking back.”

“I got to say, I rarely think about it in the sense of what could be or will be; I know fans are eager to see something with the character,” Colter explained to Coming Soon in 2021. “I know I established him, and it was an honor to do that, but I don’t know what the future holds; I’m just in my mode of doing Evil right now and a few films on hiatus. If something happens, I’d love to have a conversation with them, but for now, I’m not holding my breath. I’m happy either way; it was a good run.”

But he appreciates the opportunity. “It’s something that I really cherish,” he told Inverse, adding, “Just a moment in my life and career that I enjoyed, and that gave me a platform. And it’s an interesting role to play.”

2018 was a pivotal time in black history. Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protests against racism and social injustice ignited at the beginning of the 2016 football season. The presidential administration declared war on immigration, and a 2018 Wall Street Journal poll said that race relations were a “major problem” at the time. The show reflected some of what was going on in the context of a comic book show. Even his costume, which was a yellow-lined hoodie, was a reference to the death of Trayvon Martin.

Some of the Netflix stars haven’t had much of a career trajectory since the shows. Cox has only appeared in box office bombs like King of Thieves (2018) and the low-rated Netflix series Treason in 2020. Ritter made a few low-rated movies, like Nightbooks, in 2022. They’re great actors, but those guys are chomping at the bit to return.

Colter, on the other hand, has been a busy beaver. After appearing in the blockbuster Girl’s Trip in 2017, he’s been hard at work. He’s done more than a dozen films, including the action blockbuster Plane with Jerard Butler last year. That’s in addition to his television work. Since 2019, he’s played a former journalist studying to be a Catholic priest in the CBS/Paramount+ supernatural series Evil. It’s gearing up for its fourth season.

The man has options. So is he holding his breath, waiting for Marvel to offer him a role? No way. But is he open to it? Sure, if they can offer him a good deal. Here’s hoping Kevin Feige and his crew offer big bucks for the man.

References: ComingSoon, Inverse,  RadioTimes, Wall Street Journal

What do you think? How do you feel about the Netflix heroes returning? Do you want Colter to return as Luke Cage, or should they recast him? Let us know in the comments below!