Luke Cage showrunner reacts to apparent Disney Plus tribute removal: "Why do this?"

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Disney Plus has seemingly removed a tribute to Reg E. Cathey

Mike Colter and Reg E. Cathey in Luke Cage
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker has responded to the apparent removal of a tribute to Reg E. Cathey on Disney Plus.

Cathey played Cage's father in the series, and died at the age of 59 before the second season was released on Netflix. The tribute was originally at the end of the season 2 finale, and said: "In Memoriam Reg E. Cathey Forward Always"

"I mean, why do this?" Coker wrote on Twitter. "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."

This isn't the first time a Marvel show has been missing a tribute on Disney Plus, either. The Punisher season 2 finale does not include a Stan Lee tribute that was included in the Netflix series. Disney is working to restore both tributes, which were unintentionally left out of the episodes.

Luke Cage is one of the Marvel Netflix shows that has made the jump from that streamer to Disney Plus as part of the newly-named Defenders Saga. Whether the shows are MCU canon or not remains to be seen – but Charlie Cox's Daredevil appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin had a role in Hawkeye.

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.