In a recent interview, executives at Marvel TV are discussing the possibility of a spin-off series for Luke Cage’s love interest, Missy Knight. While the show is not set to premier for six weeks, the fact that such a step is being considered should indicate the high hopes they have for one of their “Fearless Defenders.”
The head of Marvel TV, Jeph Loeb shared his thoughts on a potential Misty Knight spin-off series for Netflix after the character debuts in Marvel’s Luke Cage series next month:
“We’re very lucky in a sense that our casts are so rich and deep and so diverse. We certainly have plans for all of our characters. A lot of it has to do with exactly how many shows Netflix is actually going to let us make. We’re up to six now. At a certain point, we have to be careful that we’re not becoming the Marvel channel on Netflix… [Although we would not be mad about a Misty Knight series]… But I think Netflix is being very selective in terms of where we’re going. That being said, Simone [Missick] just knocked it so far out of the park that we’re still trying to find the baseball. It’s somewhere out there traversing the globe. So it’s really great. And I can tell you that what she’s doing on Iron Fist, it’s just incredible. The fans are really going to love it.”
While it is not uncommon to see characters crossing over from one series to the other, think Luke Cage in Jessica Jones or Claire Temple in Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, the fact that Missy Knight will probably appear in the upcoming Netflix series, Iron Fist as well hints at the possibility of her story and the viability that it would make an interesting addition to Marvel TV’s superhero universe.
According to a recent article in The Hollywood Reporter, Missick has already become a fan favorite, receiving the strongest, most enthusiastic response during the Luke Cage Comic-Con panel last month, when she was introduced – even more than the star of the series, Mike Colter, received. Also, fans have taken to social media en masse, calling for a Knight spin-off series, which is apparently what prompted the potential viability in Loeb’s mind in the first place.
Reportedly, Missick will play a variation of Misty Knight. In the comics, Knight was seriously injured preventing a bomb attack when she was a police officer with the NYPD. Her right arm was amputated and rather than take a desk job, she resigned from the police force. Tony Stark (Iron Man) provided her a bionic arm which endowed her superhuman strength. In Luke Cage, she launches a detective agency, helping the Power Man.
Colter plays Luke Cage, in the series. Mahershala Ali is Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, an adversary for the title character to battle against. Missick is Misty Knight. Alfre Woodard plays a variation of another Luke Cage nemesis known as Black Mariah. And Theo Rossi is Shades (aka Alvarez), a career criminal and a nemesis to Cage.
Marvel’s Luke Cage premieres on September 30, 2016, on Netflix – a weekend that I’m sure will see many of us locked inside our various homes, binge-watching what we hope will be an excellent much-anticipated series.
Check out the latest trailer for Luke Cage as well as teaser trailer for The Defenders, coming in 2017, below: