Marvel Studios has added Frank Whaley (Under the Dome) to the cast of Marvel’s Luke Cage, third entry in the Netflix/Marvel original series, as Detective Rafael Scarfe. Whaley joins a steadily increasing cast of characters who will be connected to the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Created by Chris Claremont and Pat Broderick, Lieutenant Rafael “Rafe” Scarfe made his comic debut in 1975’s Marvel Premiere #23. A New York cop with connections to both Misty Knight as well as Luke Cage, Scarfe is one of the oldest characters in the “Heroes For Hire” comics.
Whaley joins joins Mike Colter (Halo: Nightfall, The Good Wife) who will the titular Luke Cage and Alfre Woodard (True Blood, Desperate Housewives) who will play the villain Black Mariah, Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy) and Simone Missick (The Road to Cannes) as Shades and Misty Knight respectively.
Created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita, Sr., Luke Cage made his Marvel Comics debut in 1972,
in the inaugural issue of “Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.” An ex-con turned superhero (for a price), Cage (aka Power Man) has gone on to become one of Marvel’s most recognizable and popular superheroes, his catchphrase”Sweet Christmas!” becoming one of the more notable ones in the Marvel brand.
Cheo Hodari Coker (Notorious, NCIS: Los Angeles) will be serving as show-runner and executive producer the anticipated series, as well as writer of the first two episodes. Marvel’s Luke Cage will premiere on Netflix in 2016, with Colter making his official debut as Cage beforehand in Marvel’s Jessica Jones, which is slated for later this year.
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