MARVEL Casting Announcements: Luke Cage Is Official, May Gets An Ex
Confirming what many have been speculating for a couple of weeks now, Marvel has officially announced that Mike Colter (The Good Wife) will join the cast of Jessica Jones as Luke Cage.
Two weeks ago, we had word that Krysten Ritter had been selected to play Jones, and according to Deadline, she’d been reading opposite Colter during the audition process. Many figured then, that Colter had been cast as Cage. Which begs the question: why did it take so long to confirm his casting?
“Mike embodies the strength, edge and depth of Luke Cage,” said Jessica Jones showrunner Melissa Rosenberg. “We’re excited to have him bring this iconic Marvel character to life.”
“Fans have longed to see Luke Cage … and in Mike we’ve found the perfect actor,” said Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television. “Viewers will get to meet Luke Cage in Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones, and experience why he is such an important super hero in the Marvel mythos.”
Of course, Colter will also bring his version of “Sweet Christmas!” to his own series, as Luke Cage is one of the four shows in development at Netflix. Daredevil has just wrapped principle photography, and there’s also Iron Fist and the miniseries The Defenders to cap the project.
According to the show description, Jessica Jones will depict the first meeting between Jones and Cage, who end up marrying (and divorcing) in the comics. Jones, having hung up her cape, is now a private investigator in New York. In the course of an investigation, she’ll encounter Luke Cage for the first time.
May Gets An Ex
A while back, mention was made that Agent Melinda May had an ex-husband. Now, we’ll finally meet him, as Blair Underwood joins the cast of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this season.
Underwood will play Dr. Andrew Garner, Agent May’s estranged ex-husband, a “neurologist and forensic psychologist who has specialized in working with gifted individuals on the Index before.”
“With Blair, we knew we’d found someone to perfectly complement May’s stoic personality,” executive producer Jeph Loeb says. “Fans have wondered about her ex-husband since she first referenced him, and Blair has the presence and charm to stand up to our Agent Melinda May.”
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns March 3, 2015.
