Luke Cage to possibly be Marvel Studios first sub-$50m movie

[Captain Craig]

Luke Cage aka Power Man of old could be the first character to come out of the announcement Marvel made a few weeks back.

Speaking of Luke Cage, a.k.a. Power Man, I hear that there's more talk underway about putting the urban hero into his own film and that a notable Hollywood star is now having (very) preliminary talks with Marvel Studios about the property and its potential. ---
The character, created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita Sr., has been at his best when teamed with Iron Fist, both in their title and as tourists in other books. They always struck me as a mash-up of genre films, the blaxploitation hero with the kung-fu master. I think with the right casting, a Luke Cage and Iron Fist movie would be fantastic.
Here's voting for Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in the roles....

A Luke Cage movie, thoughts?

 

[clint g]

Who the hell is Luke Cage

 

[Luckyflux]

He is Power Man, of Power Man and Iron Fist.

As of a few years ago, he was on the New Avengers. I stopped reading so I lost track of where we went.

 

[Greg Cox]

He's still an Avenger.

And I believe he was the first black superhero to ever have his own series.

 

[Othello]

No clue who the character is is but a Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham pairing sounds cool to me from what the blurb describes the characters as. Is the "kung fu master" white in the comics or asian?

 

[Captain Craig]

Who the hell is Luke Cage

I figured that might happen, its why I included his Wiki entry in my OP.

Is the "kung fu master" white in the comics or asian?

Yes, Iron Fist can be linked off the PowerMan entry.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

Sounds more like an Michael Jai White and Ray Park vehicle to me. Kind of reminds me of Steel which if I remember didn't tie into Superman at all

 

[clint g]

Who the hell is Luke Cage

I figured that might happen, its why I included his Wiki entry in my OP.

Is the "kung fu master" white in the comics or asian?

Yes, Iron Fist can be linked off the PowerMan entry.

Yeah I know, I read it. It was more an expression as to why this would not make money

If a nerd like myself has never heard of this guy, neither will Joe American.

 

[Turtletrekker]

He's still an Avenger.

And I believe he was the first black superhero to ever have his own series.

And as of next month, he will be pulling double-duty as an Avenger and as leader of the Thunderbolts.

 

[Captain Craig]

It was more an expression as to why this would not make money

If a nerd like myself has never heard of this guy, neither will Joe American.

Regular Joe's on this board will from time to time go "Whaaat Blade was based on a comic book, didn't know that."

It just needs to be good enough to get butts into seats.

 

[Turtletrekker]

^Same thing with The Crow. A lot of people are unaware that it started out as a comic.

 

[Greg Cox]

^Same thing with The Crow. A lot of people are unaware that it started out as a comic.

And MEN IN BLACK and THE MASK and HELLBOY . . . .

Name recognition is not always the deciding factor in whether a film succeeds. The world is full of successful movies based on obscure characters . . . .

 

[scnj]

Yeah I know, I read it. It was more an expression as to why this would not make money

If a nerd like myself has never heard of this guy, neither will Joe American.

Which is why it's a cheap film. If they market it well, they'll get their money back easily.

 

[Mr Light]

I never cared about Luke Cage before New Avengers but he's damn cool in that one. Also, no tiara!

 

[Trent Roman]

A Luke Cage movie, thoughts?

I think it's a damn shame Ving Rhames is now too old for the role. His voice is always what I hear when Cage speaks.

I also hope they go for a more serious take on the character; while Cage has his roots in blaxploitation and kung-fu, as other people have pointed out, I for one am really not interested in seeing a pastiche (leave that to Tarantino) or blazing yellow open shirts and tiaras. The Luke Cage of the last few years should be their inspiration. No costume, no silly name ("Power Man", ), just a guy with skin of steel and a badass attitude.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Skywalker]

I think Michael Jai White would be awesome as Luke Cage, but he's probably "too old" for the studio execs' liking. Then again, since this property wouldn't be expected to be a major tentpole type akin to Captain America, maybe they'd be more willing to cast older.

 

[DarKush]

The Rock for Cage? No. Now, I can envision him as Namor or Black Adam easily.

Ving Rhames would've been a good choice a few years ago. Perhaps Terry Crews or Michael Clarke Duncan. Also Michael Jai White, who probably would be the best choice now. If Quinton "Rampage" Jackson can act, which I doubt, he might be a good choice too.

I've only recently been reading Cage in the Black Panther and Avengers books, and I'm still a little leery of him. I feel that his characterization could easily become stereotypical. However, I liked the recent Luke Cage Noir miniseries, which was a period piece in 1920s Harlem. I know a movie wouldn't go that route, but I still thought it was a good story.

However, I'm guardedly optimistic that Marvel can put out a good film, which might spark more interest in black superhero films.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I think Michael Jai White would be awesome as Luke Cage, but he's probably "too old" for the studio execs' liking.

That's who popped in my mind. 50 Cent is pretty big but I have no idea if he can act.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Who the hell is Luke Cage

I figured that might happen, its why I included his Wiki entry in my OP.

Is the "kung fu master" white in the comics or asian?

Yes, Iron Fist can be linked off the PowerMan entry.

Yeah I know, I read it. It was more an expression as to why this would not make money

If a nerd like myself has never heard of this guy, neither will Joe American.

Need to be a superhero comic book nerd.

 

[FreezeC77]

Is there gonna be a "Sweet Christmas!" worked in there?