Heavy is the head.
As their September 30th release date draws near, Marvel and Netflix have released a brand new clip from Luke Cage, the third installment in their television-based cinematic universe, following last year’s Daredevil and Jessica Jones.
The clip in question introduces viewers to Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, Harlem’s current American gangster, as he beats a man in front of Barron Claiborne’s iconic photo the Notorious B.I.G. “You know what draws your eye when you look at that?” he asks intimidatingly. “The crown.”
Moving out of the ruthless neighborhoods of Hell’s Kitchen, Luke Cage will focus on the titular hero trying to recollect his life after an experiment gone wrong leaves him with indestructible skin. Mike Colter reprises his role as Cage after playing the character on Jessica Jones, and is joined by Mahershala Ali as Stokes, Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick, and Rosario Dawson.
While the series will deviate from the model laid out by previous superhero programs, particularly in its incorporation of hip-hop, it should be noted that Cheo Hodari Coker is serving as showrunner. A noted music journalist, Coker wrote the biography Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of The Notorious B.I.G. that later inspired the 2009 biopic Notorious, which he also had a hand in penning.