Mahershala Ali will play Cornell Stokes a.k.a. Cottonmouth, who owns a Harlem nightclub, on Netflix's third Marvel series.
- Sep 4, 2015
AceShowbiz - "Luke Cage" has added Mahershala Ali (also known as Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) to its list of actors who will play the superhero's enemies. The Remy Danton of "House of Cards", who also starred as Boggs in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1", is cast as villain Cottonmouth a.k.a. Cornell Stokes.
Cottonmouth is a Harlem nightclub owner who will be an unexpected foe for the titular superhero when his criminal activities threaten Luke's (Mike Colter) world. "Mahershala is an actor of extraordinary range and gravitas. As Cottonmouth he will really let loose," said Jeph Loeb, executive producer and head of Marvel Television, when announcing the casting news on Thursday, September 3. "Luke Cage won't know what hit him."
Ali joins Theo Rossi who will play the titular character's enemy Shades a.k.a. Alvarez, and Alfre Woodard who is tapped to portray the main baddie, Minetta. She is believed to be a version of comic book character Black Mariah, who is a professional criminal and a drug dealer.
Simone Missick (born Simone Cook), meanwhile, is cast in the female lead role of Missy, who could be Marvel's character Misty Knight. Additionally, Rosario Dawson is set to reprise her "Daredevil" role as Claire Temple on the upcoming Marvel series.
Luke Cage will likely be introduced on "Marvel's Jessica Jones", which is due to arrive in late 2015, before his own solo series hits Netflix.
