Marvel Star Says There’s Finally ‘Hope’ His Character Will Return After 8 Years

For a little bit there, it seemed like the Marvel Cinematic Universe had forgotten about the Netflix shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. After all, none of the characters were showing up on the big screen, while the TV side of the MCU was more focused on Disney+. But then Charlie Cox's Daredevil showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home and a new Disney+ streaming series that continued the Netflix show. Krysten Ritter will return as Jessica Jones in season two of Daredevil: Born Again. But one member of the Netflix crop of heroes has been MIA, though the actor behind him says there's finally reason to hope that Luke Cage will make a return. 

Luke Cage May Be Returning, Colter Says

Mike Colter played Luke Cage, a street-level Marvel hero who has unbreakable skin, for two seasons of his Netflix show that aired from 2016 to 2018. He also appeared in the Jessica Jones show and the Defenders crossover series, which featured all four of the Netflix heroes together. Since season two of Luke Cage ended in 2018, though, there's been no sign of the Hero for Harlem. In an appearance on the podcast On That Note, which is hosted by Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men, Colter gave the first encouraging update about Luke Cage's status that fans have had in a while. 

"I was giving no one hope before, [but now] I am giving hope at least," Colter said. 

"Listen, I will say this, I've had conversations, and I'll leave it at that," Colter explained, admitting that there was a period where he had moved on as an actor and wasn't especially antsy to return to the Marvel world. 

"It's been years now, so I'm doing other projects but, now, I think to myself, 'I have some unfinished business there,'" Colter said. "Now I've reached the point where I'm like, 'I have some unfinished business' and I think Daredevil's back so, come on ... Jessica's back"

Despite the Encouraging Update, There's Still No Confirmation Yet

Typically, all it takes from an actor is a tossed-off "sure, I'd be in the MCU" comment from an actor to spark a wave of breathless headlines on geeky websites that make it seem like it's a done deal. Luke Cage's return is hardly that—there's no word on what sorts of conversations, exactly, Colter has been having, how serious any attempt to return Cage to the shows or movies is, nor is it clear when or where the hero would show up in a future MCU title. 

To Colter's credit, he's not over-promising. All he said is that whereas before there was no hope that Luke Cage would come back to the MCU, now he's willing to be optimistic. 

"I'd say we're in a better position to come into fruition faster than we think, so we'll see," Colter said. 

Iron Fist, The Defenders' Fourth Member, Is Unlikely to Return

As for the fourth member of The Defenders? Don't hold your breath that Finn Jones will reprise his role as Iron Fist. The martial arts hero's show was widely regarded as the worst of Netflix's Marvel series and nobody seems to be clamoring for this Iron Fist to come back. (A different character to bear the Iron First mantle appeared in the animated Eyes of Wakanda Disney+ series, voiced by Jona Xiao.)

“I’m very aware of the critiques of the character and my role in it,” Jones said when asked about Iron Fistlast March. “My response to that is like, give me a f---ing chance, man. I’m here and I’m ready. I want to prove people wrong. So I would love to see that happen.”