Lucy Liu is joining “Luke Cage’s” second season, but not in front of the camera.
Netflix and Marvel announced Tuesday that the “Kill Bill” and “Charlie’s Angels” star is set to direct the premiere episode of the superhero drama’s second season.
Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker said that Liu brings an energy to her directing. Plus, he adds, she certainly knows her way around an action sequence — thanks to her work as O’Ren Ishii in “Kill Bill.”
“Lucy and I have been tight since our Southland days and she’s a welcome addition to our Luke Cage family,” Coker said in a statement (Liu was a special guest star on the show’s fourth season). “She brings the same buoyant intensity, deft humor, and singular focus to her directing that she has always brought to her acting.”
Speculation about Liu’s involvement with the show began when Harlem Coffee Co. posted a photo on its Instagram last month showing her posing with star Mike Colter.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVIlduNl1YI/?taken-at=1404923066201938
Liu made her directorial debut with her 2011 short film “Meena.” She’s since directed four episodes of her CBS series “Elementary,” where she plays Joan Watson to Jonny Lee Miller’s Sherlock Holmes.
“When you’re dealing with a bulletproof man, it helps if you have a bulletproof Director,” said executive producer Jeph Loeb. “Lucy brings a keen eye, a superb sense of story, and an obvious love of actors. She is rocking Luke Cage 2.”
On her part, Liu is of course honored.
“What a thrill to collaborate with Marvel and Netflix, two industry titans, who paint our world with inspiring stories and beguiling characters,” she said. “It is such an honor to work with such a passionate and fearless team.”
“Luke Cage” Season 2 is set to hit Netflix in 2018. First, the hero will appear in the long-awaited “Defenders,” teaming up with Jessica Jones, Daredevil and Iron Fist in August.