When Disney first announced its plans to launch a streaming service of its own where new, live-action series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would begin airing in the near future, the writing was all but on the wall for Netflix’s MCU shows. So it shouldn’t have been too surprising when Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage were summarily canceled one by one.
These are the sorts of things that happen when a major production studio decides to really start consolidating its intellectual properties and placing them safely behind a walled garden of its own making. The streaming wars are well underway and Disney (and Marvel by extension) is keen on making sure that the vast majority of MCU programming is under the studio’s complete control. Still, though, the swift cancellations were something of a shock to fans, especially considering how shows like Iron Fist and Luke Cage both really hit their strides in their second seasons. According to Luke Cage actor Mike Colter, though, the news wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Speaking with Comicbook, Colter explained how even though Luke Cage’s production team was in the process of ramping up for the third season, there were a number of telltale signs that Netflix was on the verge of canning the show, like stalls in production and missed deadlines:
“Although we had an internal pick up, amongst a certain amount of people who were close to the project, and we were moving forward with the writing and writing the group writers room, et cetera.
There were some things that started to feel a little odd. So, when it happened, I was like, ‘Eh.’ It wasn’t that much of a shock. But yeah, still shock.”
Colter acknowledged that Luke Cage’s fan base has been vocal about wanting to see the show return, perhaps on Disney+. The actor went on to say that while he’s appreciative of the support, the show’s future is ultimately up to the studio:
“I think, ultimately, if it comes back, it’ll probably come back because of the fans demand for it. I don’t think that their work is going in vain. It just may not happen as soon as they want it to.”
Disney brass has already spoken about the potential for the Netflix MCU series to make the leap over to Disney+, so it’s well within the realm of possibility that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Luke Cage. For the time being, though, all there is to do now is see how long it takes for The Punisher and Jessica Jones to follow in their counterparts’ footsteps.
For more, make sure you’re following us on our new Instagram @io9dotcom.