Netflix is on a culling spree these days. Just a week after it was announced by the streaming giant that they are not moving forward with the third season of Iron Fist, Marvel revealed earlier this week that Netflix has decided to cancel Luke Cage just after the second season.
Marvel and Netflix confirmed the news of Luke Cage cancellation to Deadline and stated that there will not be any season three for this superhero. The fans of the show were pretty shocked after the news broke as it was widely expected that Luke Cage was renewed for an additional season.
"Unfortunately, Marvel's Luke Cage will not return for a third season," Marvel and Netflix said. "Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is grateful to the dedicated showrunner, writers, cast and crew who brought Harlem's Hero to life for the past two seasons, and to all the fans who have supported the series."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the main reason behind the cancellation of Luke Cage was "creative differences." As of now, there's no word on what exactly went south between the writers and the streaming service provider.
Other than creative differences, there are other reasons that might have led for Luke Cage's cancellation. As everyone knows, Netflix does not reveal subscriber viewership numbers for any of its original series. However, Karim Zreik, the senior vice president of original programming at Marvel Television, had noted in 2017 that the series has attracted "sort of mix" of viewers between gender and age.
Apart from this, the show also received a mixed response from the critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has an average rating of 8.03/10 based on 64 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "An immersive, socially conscious narrative and a confident, charismatic lead performance make Marvel's Luke Cage a stellar sampling of the new Marvel/Netflix universe."
Luke Cage was created for Netflix by Cheo Hodari Coker and is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The story of Luke Cage is set in the MCU, sharing continuity with the movies of the franchise and was the third in a series of shows that led to The Defenders crossover miniseries.
A lot memories. A lot of individual thank you calls to make. Just want to say thank you to Marvel, Netflix, the best Writer’s room, cast, crew, the Midnight Hour, all those who graced the stage at Harlem’s Paradise and the most incredible fan base in the world. Forward always...
— Cheo Hodari Coker (@cheo_coker) October 20, 2018
In Netflix's Luke Cage, Mike Colter stars in the titular role, a former convict with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin. The series also starred stars like Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Rosario Dawson, with Mahershala Ali and Erik LaRay Harvey joining them for season one and Gabrielle Dennis and Mustafa Shakir joining them for season two.
