krysten ritter

The show may be titled Jessica Jones, but the second of Netflix’s series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will also introduce another important comic book character in Luke Cage. If you know nothing about Luke Cage and want to enjoy the series completely fresh, do yourself a favor and close this window. If you already know what Mr. Cage is all about, scroll on down for our first look at the character in action!

Marvel’s Netflix Jessica Jones series added a bit of distinction in titling itself AKA Jessica Jones alongside the addition of Krysten Ritter, but unlike Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel has decided to let simplicity prevail. Periods be damned, the second Defenders series will henceforth be known as Marvel’s Jessica Jones.

Now that Marvel’s Netflix Daredevil has come and gone, kicking off the first of our Defenders toward an inevitable teamup, focus shifts to the second installment in AKA Jessica Jones. We’ve seen Krysten Ritter milling about on set as the titular super-heroine, but take a look at Doctor Who favorite David Tennant in the villainous role of Marvel’s “Purple Man”!

Marvel’s upcoming AKA Jessica Jones has opened up casting floodgates in advance of its Daredevil predecessor even premiering a trailer for its April 10 Netflix debut, and now another name has joined the ranks. Transformers and Crisis star Rachael Taylor has been cast in the ‘AKA Jessica Jones’ role of Patsy “Trish” Walker, alternately known as Marvel superhero Hellcat. Marvel made the announcement, clarifying the character’s 1944 origins in the pages of publishing precursor Timely Comics’ Miss America Magazine, before ascending to superhero status in 1976 as Hellcat. Netflix’s AKA Jessica Jones will introduce the character as Jessica’s closest friend, Trish Walker, a syndicated radio talk show host, former model and child TV star, known to fans as “Patsy.”

The recent run of casting for Marvel’s ‘AKA Jessica Jones’ Netflix series brought with it news that ‘Luke Cage’ would first appear in a majorly supporting role, before graduating to his own ‘Defenders’ lead-in series. Now, Marvel has officially confirmed actor Mike Colter will don the yellow shirt and gauntlets as street-level hero-for-hire ‘Luke Cage.’

Though Marvel’s Netflix ‘Daredevil’ has yet to reveal an image of its titular hero in costume, we’d recently learned the second of the ‘Defenders’ series, ‘Jessica Jones’ had begun its casting search. We were split between ‘True Detective’'s Alexandra Daddario and ‘Breaking Bad’'s Krysten Ritter, but the latter seems to have won the role, with ‘The Following’'s Mike Coulter potentially acting as our ‘Luke Cage.’