Luke Cage Showrunner Shares Disappointment at Disney Removing Actor Dedication

Disney has found itself under scrutiny ever since they brought the Marvel Television collection to Disney+ from Netflix. While many Marvel fans were happy to see the arrival of the likes of Jessica Jones, The Punisher and Daredevil join the rest of Marvel Studios content, some were not on board with the introduction of more violent content being brought to the Disney+, even with new parental controls also being added. However, the removal of dedications from the final episodes of The Punisher and Luke Cage really caused outrage among fans, especially for the former of these, which was dedicated to the memory of Stan Lee.

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The second dedication, seen in the last episode of Luke Cage, was made to actor Reg E. Cathey, who passed away in February 2018 at 59. Cathey played James Lucas in the series, the father of the title character, and following its passing, it was only right that a dedication to his memory was added at the end of what became the end of the series. However, just like the Stan Lee tribute, for some reason the small moment, which is important to those who worked on the show, does not appear in the version currently playing on Disney+. One person who has expressed their disappointment in this, is series showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker.

Posting on his Twitter account, Coker said, “I mean, why do this? Reg E Cathey was part of the heart and soul of Season Two. We didn’t feel obligated to dedicate the season to him just because he died — we felt obligated because we loved him and he was a galvanizing force.”

Related: Disney+ Edits Stan Lee Tribute Out of The Punisher Finale

If The Removal of These Dedications Was an Error, It is Something That Disney Need to Rectify

With Disney having already admitted to accidentally uploading an edited version of an episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which saw some bloody scenes being replaced, there is a strong chance that the removal of both dedications could be a similar error. One thing that supports this theory is that a Stan Lee dedication included in an episode of Jessica Jones is still in place, and it is possible that while removing all Netflix references from the shows, the editing team also inadvertently removed the tributes.

The main thing now is for Disney to clarify whether this has been an error, and in that case, resolve the issue by reinstating both dedications as they were originally shown or explain why the tributes could not remain as part of the shows’ credits. While there are reasons behind some edits made by Disney, whether correct in everyone’s eyes or not, there doesn’t seem to be any plausible reason that moments like this should be deleted.

This has been just one issue Disney has faced recently but is one that could have been avoided or at least easily rectified; however, as yet, there has been no word on whether these dedications should have been removed and if they will return in the future. Until that happens, they are just going to yet more niggling gripes that subscribers have with how Disney handles some of their content.

About The Author

Anthony Lund
(1945 Articles Published)

Anthony Lund is an author, songwriter and puppeteer from a small village in the U.K. with an avid love of all genres of TV and film. As well as keeping up with the lastest entertainment news and writing about it for MovieWeb, he works as a video editor, voice over artist and production designer. A child of the 80s, he is the owner of almost 2000 books, more toys than his children, three Warner Bros. Store Gremlins and a production used Howard The Duck movie script.

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