Dave Mangels/Getty Images; Courtesy of Marvel
"A lot of it has to do with exactly how many shows Netflix is actually going to let us make," Marvel TV head Loeb tells THR.
Does Marvel have another Netflix spinoff series in its sights?
After fan-favorite comic book character Frank Castle/the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) stole the show during season two of Daredevil, Netflix and Marvel greenlit a Punisher spinoff series. With its upcoming Luke Cage, Marvel's third Netflix series is set to introduce the first live-action adaptation of Misty Knight. And with the introduction of the fan-favorite character comes the opportunity for another spinoff series — which could seem like an easy decision for the network and comic book powerhouse to make.
The character of Misty Knight was first introduced to Marvel comics in 1975 and was strongly influenced by the blaxpoitation trend of the 1970s. In her earliest incarnation, Misty was a bionically enhanced black female detective with martial arts skills. After she was injured on the job with the NYPD preventing a bomb attack, she was gifted a bionic arm by Tony Stark/Iron Man, giving her superhuman strength.
In the comics, Misty was linked romantically to both Power Man/Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Iron Fist/Danny Rand (Finn Jones), meaning she will have a big role in both Luke Cage and Iron Fist, Marvel's fourth Netflix series. She's strong, independent, smart and a great role model for women — so much so that she received the biggest cheer out of the entire Luke Cage cast at the show's Comic-Con panel. So is a Misty Knight spinoff series in the cards?
"We're very lucky in a sense that our casts are so rich and deep and so diverse," Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We certainly have plans for all of our characters. A lot of it has to do with exactly how many shows Netflix is actually going to let us make. We're up to six now."
He pauses to laugh and continues, "At a certain point, we have to be careful that we're not becoming the Marvel channel on Netflix."
When told that comic book fans probably wouldn't be mad about that, he laughed again.
"Nor would we," Loeb says. "But I think Netflix is being very selective in terms of where we're going. That being said, Simone just knocked it so far out of the park that we're still trying to find the baseball. It's somewhere out there traversing the globe. So it's really great. And I can tell you that what she's doing on Iron Fist, it's just incredible. The fans are really going to love it."
For her part, Missick is ready and willing to star in her own spinoff series.
"Somebody put it on Twitter that they want to see a Misty Knight series with Shonda Rhimes as one of the writers. I was like, 'Hell yeah,'" Missick tells The Hollywood Reporter. "How cool would that be? If you say it, if you put it out there, maybe it will happen. Tweet it, and it will come."
While Missick knows that the fan are eager for the first live-action Misty Knight, she was shocked when she got the biggest cheer during the Comic-Con panel, even more than Luke Cage star Colter.
"I was completely surprised, I will say that," Missick says. "There was this picture of me on Getty Images – please, no one find it – but I have the biggest, goofiest smile on my face. I was blown away at the audience. I mean, really?! I never imagined it."
Luke Cage season one will stream in its entirety beginning Friday, Sept. 30 on Netflix.
