In 1990, De Luca made his debut in the film industry as an associate Producer on Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. De Luca has been collecting comics since childhood and is a huge fan of comic books and graphic novels, in particular the works of Frank Miller, and sci-fi properties such as Star Trek. In 1996, De Luca, a self-proclaimed "trekkie", was approached by the producers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore for Star Trek: Voyager and pitched an idea which turned into an opportunity to write an episode for the series.