Since Mike Colter was recruited to play Luke Cage in the upcoming Marvel Television and Netflix series ‘Jessica Jones’, we hadn’t heard much about the hero’s own show on the popular streaming service. That changed about two weeks ago when award-winning actress Alfre Woodard was reported to be finalizing a deal to appear in the third of five shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the primary antagonist. Now, three more names have been added to the cast of ‘Luke Cage’, including a Hero For Hire and a familiar face from the highly acclaimed ‘Daredevil’.
First, joining the ever-growing list of rumored adversaries for the thick-skinned Defender, ‘Sons of Anarchy’ star Theo Rossi has been tapped to play Sonny, who is described as “relentless and menacing, smooth and manipulative, street smart and controlling”. Deadline reports that Sonny is actually “Shades” Alvarez, an inmate at Seagate Prison along with Cage that utilized a visor that emitted powerful optic blasts (similar to Cyclops of the X-Men). After repeatedly clashing with Cage and Iron Fist, Shades has apparently gone straight and his son Victor even took up the mantle of Power Man in comics such as ‘Mighty Avengers’ and the upcoming ‘New Avengers’.
Next, Rosario Dawson will reprise her role as Claire Temple from ‘Daredevil’. She’s also slated to appear in ‘Jessica Jones’, making her sort of the Agent Phil Coulson of Netflix’s corner of the MCU since she’s the bridge between these street-level heroes. It’ll be interesting to see if she’ll be romantically linked to Cage at some point since the two do have a history together in the comics.
Finally, in what might be the best news to come out about this show yet, relative newcomer Simone Missick has been cast as Missy, “a woman with a strong sense of justice”. That may not strike True Believers as very exciting news, but Deadline says that Missy is code for Misty Knight, the former NYPD officer who loses her arm in the line of duty and receives a bionic arm from Tony Stark. Knight has fought alongside the titular hero on numerous occasions as a member of Heroes For Hire, the private investigations agency owned by Cage and Danny Rand AKA Iron Fist. With the addition of Misty Knight to ‘Luke Cage’, hopefully casting for Rand, Colleen Wing, Shang-Chi, or even White Tiger isn’t far behind so that we can get a solid Heroes For Hire line up in the MCU.
What do you think about the new additions to ‘Luke Cage’? Which other characters from the Marvel Universe do you hope will debut onscreen in Netflix’s upcoming shows? And how do you think Shade, Claire Temple, and Misty Knight will factor into this series? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
