As a comic fan I have a love/hate relationship with the character of Luke Cage. I love the character because as an African American comicbook reader and fan who grew up as a poor inner city kid, the concept of a tough, streetsmart, superhero who came from where I came from and looked like me was always something I could easily identify with and be down for. Unfortunately what I hate about the character is that besides a few instances like the Duffy/Gammill and Owsley/Bright runs on the old Power Man and Iron Fist series, Luke Cage has been potrayed in my opinion more or less as a stereotype of what a tough, streetsmart Black male is thought of as being. He either comes across as a jive talking wanna be bad ass or a hip wanna be thug/"gangsta". Similar to what happened to the character of Blade in his first two big screen outtings at least, I've been waiting for someone to come along and greenlight a Luke Cage film that would elevate the character beyond how he has been potrayed in the comics. Recent talk of Luke Cage being on the list of potential Marvel characters that Marvel Film Studios want to try to put on the big screen has me pumped. Here are my choices for a cast for a Luke Cage movie I would like to see. Sorry to all the Bendis fans, but no Jessica Jones or Purple Man here. We're going with the old school Luke Cage, but in the 21st century.
Henry Simmons = Carl Lucas/Luke Cage. As I said I don't want a sterotype big muscle bound, scary,thuggish,ex-football player type as Cage. I want someone that is powerfully build,has precence, has the look of a black male who can fit into mainstream society and yet can come across as streetwise. Although Carl Lucas associated with shady people he himself didn't become corrupt. That's why he's a hero and fights the good fight. Simmons is the man to pull it off.
Mekhi Phifer = Willis Stryker/Diamondback. Phifer has decent acting cred as both street wise and mainstream characters and has the right balance to play Willis Stryker as the ambitious thinking "thug" responsible for Cage being sent to prison.
Brian Cox = Dr. Noah Burnstein. For a long time I had Anthony Hopkins pictured in my head for this role, but since he has been tapped to play Odin, I decided to go with someone of similar acting caliber but not the same high profile.
Gabrielle Union = Dr. Claire Temple. Seriously, do I need to put down this woman's qualifications? An very talented actress, with beauty, brains, style, charm and class. Perfect for this role.
Wade Williams = Albert "Billy Bob" Rackham. A small but important part in the "origin" of Luke Cage. Check this guy out in the first couple of seasons of the TV series Prison Break if you need to know why I picked him for this character.
Seen in flashback sequences, Malinda Williams = Reva Connors. She's the motivation for Willis Stryker to frame Carl Lucas. Reva Connors is basically the urban version of the girl next door. Malinda Williams is very good at playing this type of character.
David Gallagher = DW Griffith. Cage's young film student pal after he sets up shop as a "Hero for Hire" above the Gem Theatre. Wanted someone who could pull off wide eyed and enthusiatic and still be somewhat edgy and street smart for the character.
For movie purposes, Willis Stryker will lackeys and althought the were not down with Willis Stryker in the comics, they were down with one or two of Luke Cage's other foes and being pains in his ass : Shades and Comanche. Like Cage and Stryker not going for the sterotype black gangsta thugs for theses two characters.
Lonnie " Common " Lynn = Shades.
Dante "Mos Def" Smith = Comanche.
I definitely want feedback on this particular Fan Casting especially from the "expert" comic fans out there that think I should have made casting choices that stayed strictly to the confines of how characters are/were potrayed in the comics.