Marvel's Luke Cage (Netflix series)

To extend on that idea.

He also gets ominous background music after making a decision of any level importance.

Sugar: "Hey Luke, our napkin supplier has been raising prices and sending us crummy product. You want me to find someone new?"

Luke: *Temples fingers* *Cue soundtrack*

Goddamnit, this is actually upsetting.

Alright, I got a conspiracy theory.

These shows aren’t being cancelled in the traditional sense. They all WILL be back, on Disney’s service, with bigger budgets, for added funsies, one more show like Blade. Disney needs programming for that block and these shows will make a great base.

Doubt it. For one, other than Iron Fist, none of the shows really fit into what Disney has in mind for its streaming service. And two, they were pretty clear about those shows staying on Netflix, since they were produced for Netflix.

I mentioned this over in the Marvel Film thread, but I think what's happening is that now that Disney's taking their ball and going home, Netflix isn't being as lenient as they might have been before about certain things. Like, they are no longer under any obligation to grit their teeth and go, "Yes, Iron Fist is a fine show that everyone loves and has never been a subject of controversy whatsoever. A second season? Of course, why wouldn't there be a second season of this dung hill?"

Now, Luke was actually a good show, but we've been told that it fell through because of creative differences. And that may be in part because Netflix now feels comfortable having creative differences, seeing as they don't need to play nice with Disney to get those lucrative Star Wars and MCU film licenses anymore.

There may even be a bit of a grudge involved. Honestly, I won't be surprised if DareDevil, Jessica Jones, and the Punisher wind up cancelled after their next seasons too. Disney burnt this bridge.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Oct 20th 2018 at 8:13:33 AM

Will people care if they come back without the same crew and actors?

This is seriously sad, and yeah, I think we should bury our hopes for a "Heroes for Hire" or "Daughters of the Dragon" series. Netflix isn't allowed to produce new shows anymore, just new seasons for already existing ones.

And be honest: 1 series, which will probably have a reduced episode count, just like Defenders, couldn't possibly do justice for all these open plot threads in both series. Luke Cage as the new crime boss, Tilda becoming Nightshade, Ward and Danny in Asia, Collen as the new IF, Walker and Joy....it just ain't gonna work.

And that is why I fucking hate it when seasons have such 'To be continued' endings, when it isn't 100% clear that a next season is safe. They should have taken a lesson from Agent Carter's fate in that regard.....

Edited by Forenperser on Oct 20th 2018 at 7:52:45 PM

I'm 99% sure Disney doesn't want to have R-rated urban dramas as their superhero franchises.

I wouldn't be surprised if, ten years down the line, when Marvel is looking for new heroes to introduce in the movies, they introduce new versions of Luke Cage and Iron Fist and pretend the Netflix shows never happened.

Doubt it. They aren't really made for big screen appearances.

Weren't they both based off of popular movie genres from the time of their creation (blaxploitation and kung-fu flicks)?

Maybe Luke is less big screen oriented, but Danny, with the dragons, mystical cities, and supernatural kung-fu action?

There are still plenty of heroes in the comics and we haven't got into legacy characters yet, I doubt they'll repeat main characters from the shows.

Okay, other than Danny they aren't made for the big screen. But I think that they can use another character for this kind of story just as well.

Personally I think that it will take a long, long time before they even have any need to repeat characters. Even if they decide to no use the X-men other than perhaps a few selected mutants like maybe Dazzler, there are: The Fantastic Four The Silver Surfer The Eternals The Wild Lands (frankly, I don't see Marvel passing up a property with Dinosaurs) Silver Claw (not necessarily a wall-known character, but one with a lot of potential) The Young Avengers plus various legacy characters.

Marvel can easily make three movies for the next ten years without running out of characters.

Holding onto hope for Heroes for Hire or Daughters of the Dragon until convinced otherwise.

I was mad at first, but after what's happened to shows like Arrow and Flash I'd rather these characters and their story arcs reach some kind of high point, rather than drag on for several seasons. Nothing's explicitly stopping Danny or Luke from cameo'ing/taking part in other Netflix series, is there?

Luke Cage is easy to adapt to the big screen.

You just have to up his indestructibility and super-strength.

There’s pretty much nothing stopping any of the Netflix characters from carrying a movie. Each of their particular genres is a tried and true movie genre, and they have more than enough character, supporting cast and even antagonists to fill movie content with.

Hell, Luke himself is blatantly in a blaxploitation plot - usually a movie genre - just adapted to series form. If Shaft can carry a franchise, he can.

Feige doesn’t want to give them movie space, but that’s hardly the same thing as them not being capable of carrying one. I can’t think of a single reason why Daredevil isn’t movie material either , beyond the people overreacting over his previous shitty film - and if that was a legit litmus, we’d never have gotten a Captain America film.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 20th 2018 at 7:24:51 AM

I feel like the feel like the fact that he got a film is confirmation he's "film-worthy", however we're actually defining that. If it wasn't for bad Daredevil film, we might have got an MCU Daredevil film instead of a series.

I think the question is less 'could they carry a film' (we've had unlikely characters make good films several times) and more 'would they make films of characters who technically already exist in the setting'. Ignoring TV characters is one thing but very conspicuously duplicating them is a whole other thing.

Personally, I think the t.v. format served these characters better than the film format.

It's funny that in the comics, when Luke's and Danny's solo comics were cancelled due to bad sales, they combined them to form Heroes for Hire. And now both their solo series on Netflix have been jettisoned, it feels like a strange mirroring of their comic history.

Well, so far there is no mention of a Heroes for Hire show...though I would certainly want one.

If it weren't for movies having vastly larger budgets and more time to film, almost all comic book superheroes would be better served by the TV format than the film format.

Honestly, I feel like I'd need the viewing figures to properly comment. If they aren't great, they may well just be scrapping the shows. If they're doing alright, maybe a Heroes for Hire show on their Disney streaming service (or maybe even still on Netflix if they're fine with that having a mostly-kid demographic).

And no one knows what the viewer numbers are since Netflix rarely ever publicly discloses those.

I'm going to stick with my hopeless theory that these shows are being cancelled because Marvel wants to groom the characters for roles in some kind of future New Avengers project coming up, and that the "creative differences" came from Netflix disagreeing with those plans.

What..?

Will people even care if they got new actors? Unlike Hulk you can't say this is the new Luke Cage and redo everything.

Edited by Mizerous on Oct 27th 2018 at 1:41:37 PM