‘Luke Cage’ season 2 details emerge: how Bushmaster is ‘bullet resistant,’ Misty’s new arm, ‘Heroes for Hire’ rumors
Star Mike Colter and showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker are tackling the task of delivering Luke Cage season 2, following a divisive reaction to the first season, which was good in the first half and tailed off into bland cliches at the end.
“It was a great try,” Colter confesses when asked about that first run of episodes. “Some people enjoy the full season. Some really felt the second part was not as strong as the first. And I get both…but you’ve got to take a chance to make your series different, and I thought it was commendable. If people thought it was a miss, that’s fine. We have a different approach for the next season.”
So a ton of details set up the new season, beginning with the villain: Bushmaster.
This version of the villain (Mustafa Shakir) is described as “bullet resistant” by Coker and he explains that “It’s not gonna bounce off, but he has his ways of healing. And he has very similar strength to Luke in terms of being able to take a punch and give a punch.”
The character has ties to the Caribbean: “Jamaica has always been a country of resistance,” Coker explained about the Bushmaster’s Carribean background. “They were the first to cast off their shackles and say, ‘We have our own government, this is how we’re doing things.’ We put a lot of that stuff into the character of Bushmaster.”
Following the events of The Defenders, Luke is out of jail and trying to find a place for a normal life…well, maybe.
“Yeah, everything seems wonderful, he’s got a girlfriend, all thumbs up. What could go wrong, right?” Colter laughs. “But Luke is his own worst enemy, and that’s something I enjoy playing about him, because he doesn’t necessarily understand the results of his actions. He’s fallible and he makes mistakes. He’s got an edge, he’s got a chip on his shoulder, he’s got to discover his own popularity and enjoy it a bit. He’s learning on the fly what it is to be someone everybody recognizes, to be someone everyone in Harlem looks to for answers. It’s a lot of responsibility.”
Back at Luke’s side will be Misty Knight (Simone Missick), fit with a new arm after the horrific events of Defenders
“It’s her shooting hand, it’s her basketball hand, it’s her everything,” Missick says, referring to the character’s newfound disability and the impact it will have on her.
“How does this person who is identified by her strength and her power as a cop do that job? She can’t. So we see Misty at the top of the season walking away from the thing that defined her.”
However, while she may not be a cop, it sounds like Misty will see plenty of action as Missick adds: “I’ve got a lot more stunts this season.”
Finn Jones’ Iron Fist will play in season 2 of Luke Cage, but even if his appearance is a brief one, the impact on Power Man may be great.
“Danny helps Luke channel his chi,” Coker says, which results “in a fight to end all fights that was just one of the most fun things we’ve done.”
When asked about a Heroes for Hire spin-off Coker was positive. “It’s something that’s in the air. Internally at Marvel Television, everybody knows there’s a part of that combination that is inevitable, particularly when you watch them together in the way that we did it. If feels right. It feels good. It feels like, ‘I want to see more of this combination. Heroes for Hire is really not off the table.'”
Check out the full details HERE
No surprise that Rosario Dawson will be back as Claire, the Night Nurse. More familiar faces will also be Theo Rossi as Shades and Alfre Woodard as Mariah.
