House Of Cards’ Mahershala Ali Joins Luke Cage

Marvel has annouced that Mahershala Ali has joined the cast of the Luke Cage Netflix series.

Ali, known for House of Cards and The Hunger Games, will play Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, with the character described as:

Stokes, a Harlem nightclub owner, will become an unexpected foe in Luke’s life when Stokes’ criminal activities threaten Luke’s world.

“Mahershala is an actor of extraordinary range and gravitas. As Cottonmouth he will really let loose,” said Executive Producer/Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb. “Luke Cage won’t know what hit him.”

It was previously announced that Mike Colter (Marvel’s Jessica Jones, The Good Wife) will play the charismatic lead character, Luke Cage, in the series. Cheo Hodari Coker (SouthLAnd, Ray Donovan) will write the series’ first two episodes in addition to serving as showrunner and Executive Producer.

Marvel’s Luke Cage is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.