Luke Cage appears to be on his way to one of his best MCU stories yet, almost a decade after his last Netflix appearance. Marvel Studios is finally reviving the Defenders storyline on Disney+, reuniting the four main stars who assembled in Netflix’s street-level franchise from 2015 to 2019. While their return to the greater Marvel universe solves one problem, the team behind the MCU seems intent on making sure their story is done right.
New photos from the set of Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 show new material from Mike Colter’s Luke Cage and Finn Jones’ Danny Rand. The first two of these photos highlight the duo walking in Central Park alongside Annabelle Ivlev’s Danielle Cage, Luke’s daughter, who first came into the MCU in Season 2, Episode 6 of Born Again and returned for the season finale.
Another pair of photos shows Colter and Jones alone, with Ivlev likely having run off to play in the park. Luke is dressed in a light-brown suit with a yellow shirt, while Danny wears white pants and a brown jacket.
This sets the stage for Marvel Studios to finally deliver the Heroes for Hire storyline that fans were hoping to see in the original Luke Cage series on Netflix. In Marvel Comics, Luke Cage and Iron Fist are one of the franchise’s most notable duos, operating a street-level business called “Heroes for Hire, Inc.” in New York City. This allows the two to blend Cage’s tough, street-smart tactics with Iron Fist’s martial arts mastery, turning them into a formidable team.
This was a story many were hoping to see on Netflix in June 2018. Netflix confirmed Jones would reprise his role as Danny Rand in this season, leading many to believe he and Colter would get the chance to embrace the Heroes for Hire moniker and storyline from the comics. Unfortunately, Jones only appeared in one episode that season (Season 2, Episode 10), in which he helped Luke in his hunt for Bushmaster using his own fighting style.
The Heroes for Hire storyline is one countless Marvel fans have wanted to see in the MCU, with many hoping for an entire show centered on these two characters. Now, Marvel Television has a chance to rectify that mishap by using Cage and Jones together more extensively when both of them return in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3.
Daredevil: Born Again revives the Matt Murdock-centric story first told in Netflix’s Defenders Saga. Filming is currently underway ahead of a 2027 release, and the new season will bring back the original four Defenders stars while putting Margarita Levieva’s Heather Glenn into a more villainous role as Muse.
How Big Are Luke Cage & Iron Fist’s Roles in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3?
While Born Again is naturally focused mostly on Daredevil, reports teased that Colter and Jones will show up early in the new season alongside Cox and Ritter to reunite as a group. The question is how much Luke and Danny will be featured as Daredevil operates in public for the first time without his secret identity.
Luke was last seen in the final moments of Born Again Season 2, returning to New York and meeting Jessica and Danielle at the Alias Investigations office before confirming he will come home. As for Danny, there are no indications yet of how he will return to the MCU story-wise, last seen inIron Fist Season 2 on a quest to recover his lost chi and the original weapons of the first Iron Fist.
After Ritter was featured in three episodes of Season 2, many are already wondering if Colter and Jones will get more appearances upon their full returns to the MCU. However, even if they get an episode or two to embrace the Heroes for Hire team-up before setting the stage for more material to be released later, that could satisfy plenty of fans who have waited for them to rejoin the fray.
