Marvel has confirmed Mike Colter will star as the superhero Luke Cage in the upcoming Netflix series "A.K.A. Jessica Jones."
Colter will star opposite Krysten Ritter, who will play the title role, in the 13-episode series set to premiere in 2015, according to Marvel.com.
"Mike embodies the strength, edge and depth of Luke Cage," executive producer and showrunner Melissa Rosenberg told Marvel.com. "We're excited to have him bring this iconic Marvel character to life."
"A.K.A. Jessica Jones" will follow its title character after her short-live career as a superhero came to a tragic ending. Jessica will rebuild her personal life and career as a private detective who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York.
While investigating one of those cases, she will run across Luke Cage. The secrets of his past will have a profound effect on Jessica "in ways she could never have imagined."
"Fans have longed to see Luke Cage brought [in] and in Mike we've found the perfect actor," Jeph Loeb, executive producer and Marvel's Head of Television, told Marvel.com. "Viewers will get to meet Luke Cage in 'Marvel's A.K.A. Jessica Jones,' and experience why he is such an important super hero in the Marvel mythos."
In the Marvel comics, Luke Cage was born Carl Lucas and grew up in Harlem. He ran with a gang called the Bloods, committed petty crimes and moved between juvenile homes for much of his teenage years. He had aspirations of becoming a major New York racketeer, but decided against that path when he saw the hurt he was putting on his family.
Cage later went to prison after being framed for a crime he didn't commit. He would frequently engage in fights and try to escape while imprisoned. When he got released from a Georgia penitentiary, he returned to New York and set up a career as a hero for hire.
Colter will most likely headline the planned "Luke Cage" solo series on Netflix. The four shows, "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage" and "Iron Fist," will culminate in the crossover miniseries, "Defenders."
The 38-year-old actor will next star in the live-action series "Halo: Nightfall" based off the popular Xbox video game and the TNT event series "Agent X." He also recurs on the CBS drama "The Good Wife" as the menacing drug kingpin and businessman Lemond Bishop.
Netflix will premiere its first Marvel title "Daredevil" in 2015. The show stars Cox as Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil and is set in modern day Hells Kitchen in New York City.
