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Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe really kicked into high gear a few years ago, fans have endlessly debated about which actors would be the best fit for specific characters. One such character is Luke Cage (a.k.a. Power Man), who has never before received a proper live-action adaptation on either the big or small screen. Whenever rumors of a possible听听film have been brought up, only a few men have repeatedly found their way onto the dream casting list, and one of them is definitely Terry Crews.

The former NFL player-turned-actor has proven himself to be more than capable of excelling at both action and humor, able to switch from badass to comedian in the course of the same scene. This skill set would seemingly make him a perfect choice to play the always tough, yet occasionally sarcastic, Hero for Hire. Not to mention that Crews is the spitting image of how Cage is currently drawn.

Unfortunately, Crews publicly withdrew himself from contention for the Cage role back in September, seemingly out of the belief that Marvel would never actually push forward with a film about a character it didn鈥檛 see as a priority. That all changed in November though, when听听to create streaming series starring听听Luke Cage,听and听

With听, and听Luke Cage听sure to follow not too long after that, Crews has now seen fit to change his tune. During a recent interview with听, Crews expressed interest in the role, and seems to just be waiting for Netflix to contact him:

鈥淚 heard [it鈥檚 greenlit] but I haven鈥檛 gotten any calls.听 I鈥檝e been hearing stuff like, 鈥榦h you鈥檙e too old,鈥� and I鈥檓 like, 鈥楳an do my workout 20 years ago and we鈥檒l talk about who鈥檚 too old (laughs). Like I said, anything can happen, I never rule anything out.听 I鈥檓 game.听 There are no rules.听 What鈥檚 up, Marvel?听 I鈥檓 right here, baby.听 I ain鈥檛 goin nowhere. You know where I live! (laughs)鈥�

Crews also clarified exactly why he chose to rule himself out previously:

鈥淎ctually I took myself out of the Luke Cage running a while back, just because it was people trying to put people against each other.听 [It was] Idris vs. Michael Jai and I鈥檓 like, 鈥榃ait a minute, this is not even greenlit! 听Can we talk to Marvel?听 Why are you talking to me? Don鈥檛 put me against my homeboy for a movie that鈥檚 not existing.鈥櫶� I said, 鈥楾ake me out!鈥�

While there鈥檚 little doubt that many fans would love to see Crews play Cage, one question mark is the actor鈥檚 ongoing commitment to Fox sitcom听. Crews plays a large supporting role on the Andy Samberg-fronted police comedy, and it would be completely up to FOX as to whether they would allow him to star in a high-profile series for a competitor at the same time.

Also, despite Crews laughing it off above, Marvel/Netflix may very well prefer to hire a young, up-and-coming actor to play Cage. Crews is 45, and while that鈥檚 by no means old, it鈥檚 certainly not very young either. Plus, Marvel/Netflix might not want to pay Crews鈥� asking price, one that will surely be much higher than most other actors that audition for the part. That all said, if the two companies value the opinion of fans, Crews will definitely be a top contender to lead the Marvel Universe鈥檚 expansion into streaming video.

Michael Kennedy blogs at .