Mike Colter looks back on the missed potential of Luke Cage season 3. Prior to the Disney+ shows currently dominating pop culture, Marvel attempted to expand its cinematic universe into television through multiple series with little connections to the movies. Luke Cage was the third to arrive on Netflix, centering on Colter's titular hero with unbreakable skin. Running for two seasons on Netflix, Luke Cage was widely regarded as one of the best shows Marvel had produced for the streaming service. Critics and fans alike praised Colter's performance, as well as the series' depiction of Harlem and various social issues.
However, despite all that praise, Luke Cage came to an untimely end like the rest of Marvel's Netflix ventures. The series was cancelled mere months after season 2 premiered and just one week after Iron Fist itself was axed. The news came as a surprise, since Luke Cage was expected to continue on to season 3. However, the dissolution of Marvel Television ensured the Netflix shows wouldn't continue, and Colter made one last appearance as Luke in Jessica Jones season 3 before saying goodbye to the character.
Nowadays, Colter stars on the hit CBS/Paramount+ series Evil. In a recent interview with Collider, Colter reflected on what could have happened with Luke Cage in season 3. First, he was asked if his Jessica Jones appearance gave him closure for the character. "To be honest, no, it didn’t give me a chance to have any closure," Colter responded. He then expanded upon how the series could have continued, explaining:
There were so many places we could have taken it. There’s obviously the Alias series where Jessica and Luke had a child and had this adult life they were trying to live, and there’s this moment where they are working out their blue collar, making ends meet life together, which is very interesting. There’s the journey that Luke had in his own series with Harlem’s Paradise, where he’s taken over the club, and is he gonna be a bad guy or a guy that is on the other side of the law, and who’s gonna stop him. That was another interesting thing to watch, with him maybe being a little gangster, and that would’ve been cool too. So, I don’t think there’s any closure to it, nor do I feel like we were able to get any of that closure by having the appearance in Jessica Jones, but it is what it is. It’s one of those things where we’ll just never know. There are a lot of shows that live in that space where it’s like, “Oh, man!” It’s unfortunate, but that’s just one of the things that happens in television sometimes.
Luke Cage season 2 ended with a tantalizing cliffhanger that saw Luke dubbing himself the "Sheriff of Harlem" in an attempt to maintain peace following some drastic shakeups in the criminal underworld. As Colter pointed out, that storyline would've seen Luke grappling with his own morality, which would've made for a very compelling arc. Unfortunately, that Luke Cage story became just one of many left unresolved by the Netflix cancellations, and it seems unlikely that they will ever pop up again within the MCU. Disney+ is the way forward now.
For Colter, this seems to mean he won't get any meaningful closure. Though fans have long shown their desire to see the Netflix characters join the MCU proper, Marvel has remained mum on the possibility. There have been rumors that Charlie Cox's Daredevil will appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but there's no saying this means there's a future for the other Netflix leads. Indeed, things have remained quite in regards to a possible Luke Cage revival. It would be nice to see Colter play Luke again, especially since he put on such a great performance. Right now, though, it doesn't appear to be in the cards.
Source: Collider