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How Luke Cage Will Be “Its Own Thing” and “Completely Different” from Jessica Jones & Daredevil


When the teaser trailer for Luke Cage came out last month, it seemed that the show will have more or less the same tone as Jessica Jones and Daredevil. In some ways, it will be. However, as Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker told Comic Book Resources during the red carpet premiere event for Captain America: Civil War last week, it will be "totally different" from its predecessor previous Netflix shows Jessica Jones and Daredevil.

It's worth noting that Coker is a hip-hop journalist as well as a veteran in the TV industry. He's previous works include Southland, Ray Donovan, and NCIS: Los Angeles. It's apparent from his answers in the interview how his background has influenced Luke Cage, thus making it a show with a world completely its own (in a good way).

Actress Simone Missick, who will play cybernetically enhanced detective Misty Knight in the upcoming series, was also present during the interview, and she had some pretty cool insights to give as well.

Asked which spectrum the show will fit between Jessica Jones and Daredevil, Missick said:

It's completely different... The colors, the feel, the sounds -- everything about this show is its own thing. Harlem is a character in this show. All the other shows took place in Hell's Kitchen; this is the first one that's taking place in Harlem, and you definitely feel that. You feel that in the music, in the conversation, in the characters, everything. It's its own thing. Luke Cage is something completely new.

Coker added:

For me, hip-hop has always been black superhero music. And now we have a black superhero that matches the music. When you think about Wu-Tang, when you think about A Tribe Called Quest records like "Midnight Marauders," it's deep in the culture, but at the same time, it's become the new rock and roll. Everybody accepts it, everybody understands it.
That's really the vibe of the show -- on one hand, we're dealing with Harlem in ways that really haven't been dealt with. But at the same time, it's a superhero show. At the same time, you get to meet Luke Cage. You get to meet Misty Knight. You get to meet all these other characters. It's these comics come to life with a hip-hop vibe. It's incredibly fun.

Coker added that for comic book fans, the world Luke Cage presents will be a familiar one:

We go all the way back to the beginning in terms of the vibe, but it's modernized.

He added:

Imagine what somebody with bulletproof skin, how that could affect the neighborhood when it comes to crime. We deal, in a very realistic way, with how that influences the neighborhood (without revealing anything). It's grounded, but at the same time, the fantasy element of it also, I think, will attract people. We have something that's very dramatic, but at the same time, we don't run away from our comic book roots. We embrace them.

It looks like Luke Cage will be as faithful to the comics as Coker can make it.

By retrospect, Daredevil focuses on morality, humanity's struggle with justice, among other interesting things. I recall one interview where Charlie Cox said Daredevil was like a really good drama show with the superhero thing perfectly sprinkled on top.

Basically, the hip-hop aspect makes Luke Cage that much more different and exciting, while also being more faithful to the comics.

It's amazing how the creators of these Netflix-Marvel TV shows are able to come up with new and interesting things to look forward to with each show.

Luke Cage (Mike Colter) will join Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Daredevil (Charlie Cox), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) in The Defenders.

Marvel's Luke Cage premieres on September 30.

Read: Daredevil Showrunners Will Develop Marvel's The Defenders

Read: Charlie Cox Teases Daredevil's Leader Role In The Defenders, Series Begins Filming This Year

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