Rumor: Netflix ‘Marvel’s Luke Cage’ To Have The Tone Of ‘The Wire’

A Reddit user claiming to work for a music sync company posted details to Marvel’s Luke Cage staring Mike Colter in the lead role. There are quite a few interesting details in the post, but take everything here merely as a rumor.

I work for a music sync company and we recently had this description come through for music needed in an episode of Luke Cage.

Luke Cage is written by Cheo Coker (Ray Donovan, Southland) and the first two episodes are being directed by Paul McGuigan (Sherlock Pilot, Scandal Pilot). Played by Mike Colter, it is the story of a bulletproof, super-powered man on the run from the law who, despite his checkered past, can’t help but become a hero. We like to say it’s all Marvel but closer in tone to The Wire.

TONE: Luke Cage is a dark, yet vibrantly kinetic world with cinematic scope — SHAFT meets CITY OF GOD. The music is hip-hop in all its bombast and complexity, a living, breathing character in the show, with song choices ranging from the instantly recognizable classics to the fresh, next big thing. This unique tone will be the backdrop as we tell the story of a superpowered escaped convict at war with himself, who sets up shop in a community at war with itself. Marvel represents family entertainment. Our series will never show tobacco smoking or drugs. We are PG-16, never rated R.

SETTING: The Harlem of right now. A patchwork of brick-and-mortar history and a highrise future. Predominantly Black, the area is nevertheless a mosh pit of income brackets and ethnicities. Our hero, LUKE CAGE, moves in several worlds – he lives above a Chinese restaurant, and works for cash at a beloved barbershop by day. At night, he’s a dishwasher at a slick, gangster-owned nightclub. Within these different worlds Luke will notice a pattern: Harlem is plagued by crime, corruption, and gangsters, and needs a hero.

THEMES: Identity. Power. Manhood. Who is Luke Cage? Is he the escaped con that just wants to be left alone, or is he railing against his destiny to become a hero and better his community? Over the course of season one, Luke will grow into the hero we’ve been waiting for.

Luke Cage is the third of five Marvel premium Netflix series. It’s a dark, grounded, adult, premium cable show. Luke is one of Marvel’s most iconic “street-level” superheroes, with his origins going back to the early 1970’s, and he’s a huge fan-favorite.

Marvel’s Luke Cage is currently filming and will be released on Netflix in 2016.

Matthew Sardo
Matthew Sardo
As the founder of Monkeys Fighting Robots, I'm currently training for my next job as an astronaut cowboy. Reformed hockey goon, comic book store owner, video store clerk, an extra in 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon,' 'Welcome Back Freshman,' and for one special day, I was a Ghostbuster.