Mike Colter Officially Cast as Marvel's Luke Cage

There have been primarily two African-American superheroes fans have been wanting to see hit the big screen for Marvel, and neither was the Falcon. The first was Black Panther, who we know will be played by Chadwick Boseman. The second was Luke Cage aka Power Man. While it's unclear when or if Cage will ever make his way into the big leagues, we know he's got a Netflix series coming up, and now we also know he'll be played by Mike Colter.

After his name surfaced as the frontrunner some weeks back, Colter has been officially cast as Luke Cage. The character will first appear in the series AKA Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter. He'll then move on to his own 13-episode series sometime afterward. Cage and Jones are an item in the Marvel Universe (they even have a kid together), and it looks like they'll be attached at the hip here, too.

"During the course of an investigation in New York City, private investigator Jessica Jones encounters the enigmatic Luke Cage – a man whose past has secrets that will dramatically alter Jessica in ways she could never have imagined."

AKA Jessica Jones follows an ex-superhero with who gave up her crime-fighting career after a tragic incident. Now she works as a private detective solving crimes involving other heroes.

Colter can be seen now as Jameson Locke in the Microsoft original series, Halo: Nightfall. It will be interesting to see if his character makes the leap to The Avengers considering the clamor from fans who want to see it happen. AKA Jessica Jones will premiere some time in 2015 following the Daredevil series, which just debuted some new images of star, Charlie Cox, which you can see below. There is also a series following Luke Cage's best friend and partner, Iron Fist. 

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Krysten Ritter to Star as Marvel's 'Jessica Jones'

One of the earliest TV roles for Krysten Ritter, known for playing bitchy supporting characters mostly, was on the cult favorite show, Veronica Mars. Her role as Gia was memorable enough that she was brought back for last year's movie to antagonize our favorite detective. Hopefully Ritter picked up a few pointers from Kristen Bell in the process, because she's now about to play an investigator herself; one with super powers.

After her name emerged on the shortlist a few weeks ago, Ritter has been confirmed to star in Marvel's Netflix series, Jessica Jones.  Jones is a PTSD-afflicted former superhero who gives it up and becomes a private detective, policing the Marvel universe. The show will also feature appearances by Luke "Power Man" Cage, her lover in the comics, with Mike Colter (The Following) emerging as the frontrunner to play him. Ritter probably wouldn't have been my first choice (Elisabeth Moss would have been the sh*t), but she's someone who has been needing a breakout role for a long time and this may be it.

The 13-episode Jessica Jones series will be written by Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight) and will debut after Daredevil completes its run.

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Marvel Eyes Teresa Palmer, Alexandra Daddario for 'Jessica Jones'; Two Names Emerge for 'Luke Cage'

Marvel is looking to stake a larger claim on the small screen than just Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter. As we know they're currently developing four Netflix series, with production on Daredevil already underway. The next on their list are shows based on the characters Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and it looks like the casting search has begun for both.

According to Deadline, Krysten Ritter (She's Out of My League), Alexandra Daddario (True Detective), Teresa Palmer (Take Me Home Tonight), and Jessica De Gouw (Arrow) are up for the Jessica Jones role. Jones is a former superhero who decided to quit and start a detective agency helping other heroes. In the comics she's the mother of Luke Cage's child, and their shows will be closely tied together. Cage is expected to appear in 6-7 episodes of Jessica Jones leading to his own series that will debut after Iron Fist.

As for who will play Cage, a character many have been expecting to appear in the big league Avengers movies at some point, Lance Gross (Our Family Wedding) and Mike Colter (The Following) are said to be in contention. Neither are very big names at this point but taking on a major Marvel character and prominent Avenger like Cage is a good way to get some attention.

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First Look at Lead Character in 'Halo: Nightfall'

The Halo video game franchise helped launch Microsoft's Xbox way back in 2001 (damn I feel old) and it has been the centerpiece of their console systems ever since. With the studio making the bold move into feature films and web series, it only makes sense that Halo would again be at the heart of it, which is why two projects based on it are on the way. Ridley Scott is exec-producing Halo: Nightfall, a live-action digital film that ties into the overall war between humans and the Covenant, and now we have the first look at the lead character from it.

The image shows Mike Colter (The Good Wife) as Agent Locke, an enhanced super soldier whose team of Spartans "is sent to investigate terrorist activity on a distant colony world and are eventually drawn to an ancient, hellish artifact during their search." Locke is a new character to the mythology but will also play an integral role in the next game, Halo 5: Guardians, due out in the latter part of 2015.

The film will be directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan and constructed in web series style similar to Machinima's Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. It will be available on multiple platforms, including Xbox Live, and will probably be packaged as a whole on Blu-Ray/DVD by the end of 2014.  Microsoft also has Steven Spielberg's developing a live-action Halo series to be released in the near future. [Variety]

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