The first season of Power Book II: Ghost, the spin-off of the Starz drama Power, ends in January, but the franchise has no plans to stop the expansion of its universe. A brief preview for prequel series called Power Book III: Raising Kanan immediately followed the December 27 broadcast of Ghost‘s ninth episode, Entertainment Weekly reports. The teaser can be viewed below:
As the title indicates, Power Book III: Raising Kanan will chronicle the early life of the character Kanan Stark, who was played in the original Power series by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Escape Plan, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’) and murdered in season five. Jackson’s voice features prominently in the teaser. The upcoming series will be set in the 1990’s in South Jamaica, Queens, where Jackson grew up in real life, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. The series premiere is expected to arrive in the summer of 2021.
Kanan’s younger self will be portrayed by Mekai Curtis (Milo Murphy’s Law, Kirby Buckets), Deadline reports. Curtis is joined by cast that includes the likes of Omar Epps (House M.D., Juice), Patina Miller (Madam Secretary, Mercy Street), Lovie Simone (The Craft: Legacy, Selah and the Spades) and Brooklyn hip-hop artist Joey Bada$$ (Mr. Robot, Two Distant Strangers), via Deadline.
The idea of creating a “Power Universe” was introduced to the show’s fanbase in advance of the main show’s series finale in February 2020 via a minute-long teaser trailer, which is where many first saw the title Raising Kanan. The clip makes additional mention of future spin-offs Influence and Force, although their release sequence has reportedly been flipped since the initial video announcement, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Power Book IV: Force will continue the story of drug dealer Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora, Jack Reacher) as he ditches New York to make a new start on the West Coast, according to Entertainment Weekly. Book V: Influence is allegedly political thriller centered on the dealings of corrupt New York City councilman Rashad Tate (Larenz Tate, Menace II Society), as reported by Newsweek.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Power creator Courtney A. Kemp (The Good Wife, Happy Town) spoke about how the plan to do several shows connected by the same core set of characters was inspired by comic book cinematic universes. “We are patterning it after Marvel, where different characters come in and out of other people’s shows… So there’s crossovers and some of your favorite characters will come back, even if they don’t get their own spin-off… We’re trying to really do it for the fans, to give the most of what they want,” she imparted to the magazine.
The season one finale of Power Book II: Ghost airs on Starz on January 3, 2021. The series was renewed for a second season in September 2020, as reported by Deadline.