‘Luke Cage’ Cancelled; ‘Heroes For Hire’ Incoming?

Luke Cage
Shortly after Iron Fist was cancelled by Netflix, another Marvel series running on the platform has met the axe: Luke Cage. The move comes across as surprising, given that unlike Iron Fist, the show has consistently been a critical favorite. But both shows being cancelled could leave an opening for a spin-off that crosses both of them together.

 

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that the Marvel series Luke Cage has been cancelled by Netflix. The two companies issued a joint statement:

“Unfortunately, Marvel’s Luke Cage will not return for a third season. Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is grateful to the dedicated showrunner, writers, cast and crew who brought Harlem’s Hero to life for the past two seasons, and to all the fans who have supported the series.”

THR’s insiders have told them that the decision to cancel the show came down to creative differences over the way the series should proceed after the bombshell Season 2 finale. Without giving anything away, the last episode had the lead character’s morality in a pretty malleable state and opened the door to the possibility that he might become a villain.

 

As I mentioned in a previous article covering another Marvel series, this does not mean the end for these sets of Marvel characters. Netflix’s other series share their own corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and there’s room for crossover. Indeed, there are two lines of comics that cross the characters of the Luke Cage and Iron Fist franchises together that might be suitable to adapt: Heroes For Hire, which pairs Luke Cage up with Iron Fist, and Daughters of the Dragon, which pairs Colleen Wing with Misty Knight. Potential for both kinds of crossovers were teased between the most recent seasons of Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

 

It might also be that Netflix’s contract with Marvel could be wrapping up, and with Disney’s plans to get into streaming, there’s a chance that future episodes with these characters could appear on a platform like Hulu while existing episodes remain on Netflix for the time being. For now, fans who are subscribed to Netflix can watch the newly-returning Daredevil with its third season, as well as future seasons for The Punisher and Jessica Jones. For now, future seasons of Marvel on Netflix beyond that is uncertain.

 

Both seasons of Luke Cage are available to stream on Netflix.