Marvel and Netflix have released a teaser trailer for Luke Cage season 2 that confirms a summer premiere date for the show’s next installment. Mike Colter made his small screen debut as the bullet-proof man in Jessica Jones season 1, before reprising the role during last year’s miniseries crossover event The Defenders. The second seasons of both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage began filming around the same time in 2017, indicating that those would be the first two of possibly four Marvel/Netflix TV show seasons to begin streaming in 2018.

Sure enough, Jessica Jones season 2 is now set to become available for viewing through Netflix starting Thursday, March 8, aka. International Women’s Day. Daredevil season 3 and Iron First season 2 are tentatively expected to premiere sometime before the year draws to a close, but we now have confirmation that Luke Cage will be the first Defender to make their big return in 2018 after Miss Jones.

Marvel/Netflix has now released the teaser trailer for Luke Cage season 2, confirming that it will premiere on Friday, June 22. The video shows Luke speaking to some unidentified person offscreen, challenging them to “step up” if they truly want to “test” him. Those clips are part of a larger sizzle reel that showcases Luke’s many super-human abilities, including being impenetrable to bullets and immune to exploding trucks. You can read the official synopsis for Luke Cage season 2 that was released with the teaser, below:


After clearing his name, Luke Cage has become a celebrity on the streets of Harlem with a reputation as bulletproof as his skin. But being so visible has only increased his need to protect the community and find the limits of who he can and can’t save. With the rise of a formidable new foe, Luke is forced to confront the fine line that separates a hero from a villain.

Similar to the main villain for Jessica Jones season 2, the “formidable new foe” that Luke will face in Luke Cage season 2 is being kept under-wraps ahead of the season’s premiere. Harlem’s favorite corrupt politician Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) and her right-hand man Hernan “Shades” Alvarez (Theo Rossi) will no doubt be causing trouble in season 2, along with Luke’s half-brother Willis “Diamondback” Stryker (Erik LeRay Harvey). Season 1 concluded with a tease that “Diamondback” will be getting a super-power upgrade of his own, following his defeat at Luke’s hands in the first season finale.

Fortunately, Luke will also be getting some enhanced help this season. Simone Missick’s Misty Knight finally lost her right arm during The Defenders and has now replaced it with a bionic limb, like her Marvel Comics counterpart before her. The Iron Fist himself, Danny Rand will also be showing up in Luke Cage season 2 in order to lend his old pal Luke a helping hand, er, fist. That doesn’t mean the show is going full-blown Heroes for Hire just yet, but Colter has expressed his hope that people respond well enough to Luke and Danny teaming up to keep the drum beating for that spinoff to eventually happen.

Jessica Jones season 2 premieres Thursday, March 8 on Netflix, followed by Luke Cage season 2 on Friday, June 22. Daredevil season 3 and Iron Fist season 2 are expected to arrive in the second half of 2018.