On Friday 20th October, Marvel and Netflix confirmed that Luke Cage had been cancelled, and would not return for a third season. This follows the news from earlier in the same week that Iron Fist had also been cancelled from the streaming service.
While the cancellation of Iron Fist was met with a resounding shrugging of shoulders, the response to Luke Cage’s cancellation has been one of surprise and sadness. While Netflix don’t reveal their viewing figures, the show had been well-received critically, and fans are expressing their disappointment at seeing the show with the best representation for people of colour cancelled.
But is all hope lost? Could the hero of Harlem and Danny Rand make a return?
As we see it, there are three options for what happens next.
Option One: This really is the end
Iron Fist was not well received by fans and critics alike, with people criticising everything from the casting of Finn Jones to the martial arts shown. Luke Cage star, Mike Colter, also recently took some heat on social media after making a crass joke about the groping of Ariana Grande by Bishop Charles H Ellis III at Aretha Franklin’s funeral. With Disney under scrutiny after the sacking of James Gunn for making bad taste jokes, it’s possible that this was a factor in the decision. It may well be that both shows, and characters, are dropped from the MCU.
Option Two: Heroes For Hire is coming
Some fans are speculating that the closeness of these two shows being cancelled is no coincidence. In the Marvel comic book universe, Luke and Danny are frequently teamed up as ‘Heroes for Hire’, a pairing that has proved popular with comic book fans. Could the cancellation mean a Heroes for Hire show is coming to our screens?
Speculation was triggered after Iron Fist star Finn Jones shared an image on his Instagram of the combined might of Rand and Cage’s fists.
Option Three: Both shows are moving to Disney’s streaming service
Disney are famously protective of their owned titles, and with their own streaming service coming soon, it could be that this is the beginning of Disney bringing the Marvel shows back in house. So far, it’s been rumoured the new service will have standalone shows for Scarlet Witch and Loki, so bringing in Iron Fist and Luke Cage could make sense.
Whether it’s as solo shows or Heroes For Hire, or on Disney or Netflix, it seems unlikely that this is the end for Cage and Rand. Both shows have shared cryptic hints on their social media accounts that suggest all is not lost.
The Luke Cage accounts shared an image of Colter, with the caption ‘Always Forward’, while Iron Fist had a similar image of Jones, captioned ‘the story is never over’. Jones has been hinting too, with his statement on the cancellation noting, “with every end is a new beginning.”
The Iron Fist cancellation statement hints heavily that the show has a future elsewhere. “Marvel’s Iron Fist will not return for a third season on Netflix,” the statement read. “While the series on Netflix has ended, the immortal Iron Fist will live on.”
Which option do you think is most likely, and which would you like to see most?
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