Mahershala Ali Cast As Cottonmouth In Marvel’s Luke CagePosted by Wilson Morales
September 3, 2015
Mahershala Ali (House of Cards) has been cast to play Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes in Netflix’s “Marvel’s Luke Cage,” joining the additions of Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, and Rosario Dawson, who will reprising her “Marvel’s Daredevil” role as Claire Temple.
Alfre Woodard is set to play gang leader Black Maria, the series’ villain.
In Luke Cage, Mike Colter, who will be first introduced in the second Marvel series for Netflix, A.K.A. Jessica Jones, plays Cage, a wrongly accused man who, granted superstrength by a sabotaged experiment, escapes prison to become a superhero for hire. Colter will be showcased in 6 or 7 episodes of the Jessica Jones show before leading his own Netflix series, Luke Cage.
Stokes, a Harlem nightclub owner, will become an unexpected foe in Luke Cage’s (Mike Colter) life when Stokes’ criminal activities threaten Luke’s world.
Rossi will play the villain Shades, who made his first appearance in 1972 in the premiere issue of “Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.” A convicted felon, Shades and his partner in crime, Comanche, escaped prison and came into possession of a visor that enables him to shoot optic blasts.
Missick will play Misty Knight, who made her comic book debut in “Marvel Premiere” #21, created by Tony Isabella and Arvell Jones. Originally a police officer with the NYPD, Misty Knight lost her arm in a bombing accident, but Iron Man himself built her a new bionic arm. The character has worked as a private detective with Luke Cage throughout the comics, even leading the Heroes for Hire at one point. Knight has also been one half of the Daughters of the Dragon with her partner Colleen Wing as well as a frequent love interest for Danny Rand aka Iron Fist.
Ali will next be seen reprising his role as Commander Boggs in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. He starred for three seasons on USA’s sci-fi drama The 4400 and had a featured role on David Fincher’s 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The Oakland native gained more visibility in the role of Remy Danton in the Netflix series House of Cards. Upcoming roles include the Gary Ross’s Civil War drama “The Free State of Jones,” joining Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Keri Russell.
Cheo Hodari Coker will serve as executive producer and showrunner of “Marvel’s Luke Cage.” He is also writing the first two episodes of the series that will premiere in 2016, everywhere that Netflix is available.
“Luke Cage” is the third series in Marvel’s four-series package at Netflix after “Jessica Jones” and “Marvel’s Daredevil.” The last series will be “Iron Fist,” with all four leading into a “Defenders” mini-series.
