Tarantino pulls the curtains from the reason why his Marvel project remained unfinished.
The legendary director Quentin Tarantino has probably dozens of unfinished projects over his almost three-decade-long career. Some names in this elusive list include ‘Star Trek’, ‘Kill Bill: Volume Three’, a rumoured James Bond flick as well as a Marvel superhero movie based on the comic character ‘Luke Cage’ starring Laurence Fishburne in the lead role. The name of this movie would have been ‘Luke Cage: Hero for Hire’. In a podcast with Amy Schumer, he revealed that he was intent on adapting the Marvel movie right after he had made his Hollywood debut with ‘Reservoir Dogs’ in 1992. So why did his plans fall through?
Highlights —
- ‘Luke Cage’ as a standalone hero: How much do we know about him?
- What would have ‘Luke Cage: Hero for Hire’ been about?
- Why did Quentin Tarantino not follow through with the plan?
The director had led out that his plans for the ‘Luke Cage’ movie had been formed way before he released his seminal movie ‘Pulp Fiction’ and decades before the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU. He went on to say that he is mostly done with his directing career and he will most likely do only one movie and then call it quits.
‘Luke Cage’ as a standalone hero: How much do we know about him?
Luke Cage, born Carl Cage, tells the story of an African-American man who grew up in the streets of Harlem, New York, messing around with his friends, causing trouble, and having fun. In his teenage years, he became a part of criminal gangs along with his friends but immediately quit that life after finding out how his actions were hurting his loved ones and his community.
After making things right, he was unfortunately sentenced to prison when the police found heroin in his possession, which was planted there by a disgruntled former friend. In prison, he was made the target of repeated racially motivated abuse and physical beatings, and yet he endured it all and even made several attempts at escape.
Luke signed up for a scientific experiment which went awry and gave him superhuman strength, much like Captain America or Warhawk. He used his newfound powers to escape the prison and get revenge on the gangsters from his past life.
Are You Gonna Watch Luke Cage? (Quiz)
What would have ‘Luke Cage: Hero for Hire’ been about?
Tarantino’s unfinished project ‘Luke Cage: Hero for Hire‘ would have been based on the comic book segment of the same name in the Luke Cage comic book series. While we shall never get to know what the movie would have been like, we can get a good idea if we take a look at the story arc of the aforementioned comic books. The ‘Hero for Hire’ story arc takes us back to New York, Luke Cage’s birthplace, as he teams up with Ghost Rider to defeat a murderous demon named ‘Darkglove’.
Luke, later on, joins the team ‘Heroes for Hire’ with his friend Iron Fist and together they destroy ‘Master of the World’s’ plans for world domination. After saving the world as a Hero for Hire, he is kicked out of the squad due to his past criminal record. Towards the end of the story arc, Luke decides that he is not cut out for being a world-saving hero and settles down in a neighborhood and fights petty criminals there.
Why did Quentin Tarantino not follow through with the plan?
While the topic has been brought up many times by the media and Marvel fans to the legendary director, he has only recently revealed the reason behind him dropping the ‘Luke Cage: Hero for Hire’ project. In an interview with a leading Hollywood magazine, Tarantino revealed that at the time his geeky and comic book crazy friends had presented too many doubts regarding his casting choice.
Tarantino said: “I had an idea that Larry Fishburne would’ve been the perfect guy to play Luke Cage. But all my friends were like, ‘It’s got to be Wesley Snipes.’ And I go, ‘Look, I like Wesley Snipes, but Larry Fishburne is practically Marlon Brando. I think Fish is the man.’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, but he’d have to get in shape in a big way. Snipes is that way already!’ And I go, ‘F*ck that! That’s not that important! Fuck you, you ruined the whole damn thing!’”
Way back in the 90s, Tarantino had decided to turn his favourite comic book ‘Luke Cage: Hero for Hire’ into a movie and almost did so, but alas it became one of his career’s most “what-could-have-been” unfinished projects. Do you think he should strive to revive the project once again? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
