The first half of the first season of Luke Cage stands up among the best of the Marvel/Netflix Universe (the second half, post-Cottonmouth's death... not so much). After a stint battling endless hordes of magical ninjas in The Defenders, Cage is back to protect his native Harlem in the first trailer for the second season of Luke Cage—and he's got a new archenemy to contend with.
The trailer introduces us to Cage's new philosophy ("Sometimes brutality gets shit done") and the major villain of the season, Bushmaster (played by Mustafa Shakir), who apparently is as strong as Cage (but, you know, evil). Returning from the first season are bionic-armed Misty Knight (Simone Missick), the villainous Black Mariah (Alfre Woodard) and Shades (Theo Rossi) and the ubiquitous Rosario Dawson as Marvel/Netflix glue Claire Temple. Iron Fist (Finn Jones) will also appear in the second season (giving us hope we are inching closer to the "Heroes For Hire" storyline), and it will feature Reg E. Cathey's final role before his death. Former Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra will show up as a villain, and Gabrielle Dennis will play Tilda Johnson/Nightshade.
Here's the Netflix logline for the new season: "After clearing his name, Luke Cage has become a celebrity on the streets of Harlem with a reputation as bulletproof as his skin. But being so visible has only increased his need to protect the community and find the limits of who he can and can’t save. With the rise of a formidable new foe, Luke is forced to confront the fine line that separates a hero from a villain."
In a recent interview, star Mike Colter said the new season is filled with "a lot more bad-assery. A lot more fighting. I’m going to be squared off against a lot of people. So, it’s going to be fun.” He added that it is "a little darker than season one. It’s so relevant that it feels like this is what would happen if superheroes were walking around the street. This is what it would be like."
The new season will be ceremonially dumped onto Netflix on June 22nd.
