Writer and director Quentin Tarantino very nearly made a Luke Cage movie before Pulp Fiction, according to an interview with Chris Hardwick.

The news comes from the latter's Nerdist Podcast (via Polygon), wherein Tarantino explained that he was interested in making a film about Luke Cage. The director — who had yet to become a household name with Pulp Fiction — was apparently eyeing Laurence Fishburne for the starring role. The studio wanted Wesley Snipes, and Tarantino began to worry about typecasting either actor.


Further creative differences pushed Tarantino away from the project. Though perhaps this was an early indicator of Snipes' eventual role in a different Marvel movie — the titular vampire hunter in 1998's Blade.

Luke Cage, meanwhile, has finally been portrayed by Mike Colter in the Marvel Netflix series Jessica Jones. He'll get his own series in 2016, and will presumably appear in the team-up miniseries based on The Defenders.

Speaking of more modern adaptations, Tarantino also offered that he's still not against doing a comic book movie. He added that if he did, however, "it should be an original character."