John Singleton has been attached to direct a film version of the comic book "Luke Cage" for years now, but even he does not know if it will ever happen. Despite all the comic book movies in production, Cage’s studio, Columbia, hasn’t fully embraced the black superhero, according to Singleton.
"It’s basically a guy that gets out of jail, basically breaks his way out of jail and he’s basically a superman," said Singleton. "He has to learn to be a hero for the sake of being a hero, not because somebody pays him to be a hero. What would an ex-con do if he had powers? He’d go back to the neighborhood and be like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll help you but you’ve got to pay me. If you’re not paying me, I’m going to make sure you don’t…’ He’s going to be kind of a thug but then he’s got to realize that you do things for the right thing, not just for profit."
Marvel’s Luke Cage
A fan of the Cage comic books, Singleton has high standards that any studio will have to accept to get him to direct it. "It’s got to have a great script. We have a great script. We have a couple of great scripts. It’s just a matter of some people have not got it yet. I’m not saying every studio on the board, some people haven’t got it that multi-ethnic sells."
If they continue to not get it, Singleton will move on. "For me, the guy’s a hero. I’ve been wanting to do the movie since I was a kid and I’m not going to do it unless it’s right."
Per IMDB, Tyrese Gibson is in talks to star as Cage, with Terrence Howard up for the part of Diamondback, Cage’s former friend-turned-foe.
Until then, Singleton’s pulling producer duty on Craig Brewer‘s upcoming "Black Snake Moan," due in theaters March 2.
