It’s a good time to be a Marvel fan. The comic book empire followed the release of a new Thor movie and Captain America trailer with the announcement of the production of four new superhero TV shows.
Now the initial excitement has died down, fans are wondering just who will end up playing the coveted roles of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and Iron Fist.
Right now, the fan-favorite casting choice for Cage is coming from an unexpected source: Old Spice commercials.
You may not know Isaiah Mustafa by his given name, but you’ve probably heard of the Old Spice guy. You know, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” Originally famous for having perfect abs and the ability to find “tickets to that thing you like,” in real life he’s a major comic book nerd. He even named his own daughter after Batman villain Harley Quinn. And back in 2011, he made it very clear that he really, really wants to play Luke Cage, to the extent that he went ahead and made this teaser video of himself in character.
So, is the idea of Mustafa as Luke Cage just a pipe dream? Not necessarily. He’s an established TV actor as well as being known for the whole shirtless shower gel commercial thing, and he has the geek credibility to helm a Marvel TV series. Also, the fans certainly haven’t forgotten him. As soon as the Luke Cage TV series was announced, people started tweeting Mustafa to ask about it, and GIFs of his teaser trailer shot to the top of his Tumblr tag.
Shout out to e’ryone who wants to see me as #LukeCage!! Let’s see how loud you can get ;) Holla if ya hear me!! #thegoodfight
— Isaiah Mustafa (@isaiahmustafa) November 7, 2013
LRT I will inevitably be disappointed if @Marvel casts anyone who isn’t @isaiahmustafa as Luke Cage.
— Laura (@bliss116) November 8, 2013
So @Marvel has announced a Luke Cage show but not said it’s @isaiahmustafa? #balldropped
— JawaKing (@kingofjawakings) November 8, 2013
The good news is that while Marvel may not be casting roles based on Internet campaigns, they’re definitely aware of Mustafa’s existence. So it’s totally not inconceivable that next time we see Captain America and the Old Spice Guy hanging out together at Comic-Con, it’ll be in a professional capacity.
Photo via agentmlovestacos/Tumblr