Jeph Loeb Talks Differences In Luke Cage Series
One of the interesting things about the Marvel/Netflix series is that they are all set in New York, just different areas of it. What this allows is personal stories with an air of familiarity, and a potential for crossovers from the other series. That being said, they also aim to be different from one another, and with the upcoming Luke Cage series, that aim is put to the test. Though for the Marvel team, it simply meant looking at the world itself and putting it in the show:
“We really looked hard into the practicality of shooting up in Harlem [for ‘Luke Cage,’]” Head of Marvel TV Loeb said to ComicBookResources. “The people of New York, the mayor of New York, the governor of New York — everybody works towards making that stuff happen. places like the Apollo, places that are so rich in terms of culture, in terms of the ethnic quality, what Cheo and I always refer to as the musicality of that area, is what set the tone.”
“You can’t set out to do ‘Luke Cage’ and not deal with the reality of what’s going on in this country, and what’s going on in general. It’s not what the show’s about, but if we can get our message out, which is, ‘This is all one planet, and we’re going to have figure it out’ — you just can’t put up walls and try to figure it out that way. We made a show which has great fun, great action, all the things that you want out of ‘Luke Cage.'”
Loeb would emphasize though that this is a Luke Cage series, and that he will be shown in full glory:
“He’s a total badass,” Loeb continued. “Mike Colter just plays the role. it’s a very different Luke Cage than you saw in ‘Jessica Jones,’ even though it’s the same actor. On ‘Jessica Jones,’ you were seeing Luke through Jessica’s POV, because it was Jessica’s story, and that’s the way it should be. There weren’t scenes where Luke was just doing stuff on his own. Now you’re going to get to see him with his friends, with his worlds, with what’s going on.”
Luke Cage debuts later this year.