When it was announced that Netflix would be doing TV series based on the marvel characters Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, we didn’t know what order we would be getting these series. Netflix chose to kick things off with Daredevil, which was the smart choice because he was the most well-known character and most likely to get the ball rolling on the other Netflix series.

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Image via Netflix

However, in a recent interview with our friends at Complex, Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Coker revealed that his show wasn’t originally supposed to come after Jessica Jones. Marvel had been planning to follow up Jessica Jones with Iron Fist, but after the positive reaction to Mike Colter’s performance as Luke Cage in Jessica Jones, the studio wanted to fast-track his solo series:

“Marvel went from, ‘We’re gonna take our time’ to ‘Let’s flip it and do Luke Cage first,’” Coker says. “‘We’ve got this great concept and this guy is leaping off the screen, let’s follow the momentum.’”

No offense to Iron Fist, which may turn out to be great, but I’m glad that Marvel and Netflix decided to move forward with Luke Cage first. On a surface level, there’s not enough that differentiates Iron Fist from Daredevil. They’re both white guys who learn martial arts, they have superpowers (although Daredevil tries to downplay Matt Murdock’s superpower as much as possible), and they fight crime. Meanwhile, Luke Cage can really take us into new, surprising territory, and I’m excited to see what the show has in store when it premieres on Friday.

Here’s the official synopsis for Luke Cage:

After a sabotaged experiment leaves him with super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage (Mike Colter) becomes a fugitive trying to rebuild his life in modern day Harlem, New York City. But he is soon pulled out of the shadows and must fight a battle for the heart of his city – forcing him to confront a past he had tried to bury.

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Image via Netflix
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Image via Netflix
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Image via Netflix