‘Luke Cage’ Showrunner Inks Overall Deal With Amazon

After plotting Creed's revenge against Drago and setting Luke Cage up as Harlem's kingpin, writer [...]

After plotting Creed's revenge against Drago and setting Luke Cage up as Harlem's kingpin, writer and producer Cheo Hodari Coker is taking his talents to Amazon.

The online retailer and streaming giant announced they inked a deal with the Luke Cage showrunner, taking him from Marvel Television after Netflix cancelled the popular superhero series.

"Amazon is the future, and their bespoke, specific approach to building groundbreaking shows offers an amazing opportunity, one that I'm incredibly thankful for," said Coker in a statement, according to Deadline. "I can't think of a better place to launch the first shows developed under my Seattle-based Fighting 99th Entertainment banner, and am excited for people to see what we have in store."

The company spoke highly of Coker's accomplishments, expressing excitement for his future projects.

"We're very excited to welcome Cheo to the Amazon Studios family," said Amazon Studios' co-head of TV Vernon Sanders. "From Notorious to Luke Cage, Cheo is a provocative, revolutionary storyteller, and we're happy he'll be creating those kinds of bold new series exclusively for Prime Video."

This is great news for Coker, but diehard Luke Cage fans hoping for the character's return might be disappointed. While Netflix and Marvel Television have both teased the return of the Defenders in some fashion, details about the contracts that brought these series to life indicate that it's not possible.

According to various sources, Netflix has a deal with Marvel Television that stipulates characters from their series cannot appear elsewhere for at least two years after cancellation. And with Netflix creating their own successful series, and Marvel's parent company Disney launching their own streaming service in 2019, future collaborations are unlikely.

"A lot [of] memories," Coker tweeted after news broke of Luke Cage's cancellation. "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..."

Netflix had already cancelled Iron Fist, and has since ended the flagship series Daredevil after the critically acclaimed third season. New seasons of The Punisher and Jessica Jones are already in the can, with the former set to release in January. The fate of those series beyond their upcoming second season is still unknown.

There's no word yet on what Coker's first project for Amazon will entail.

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