Luke Cage: Alfre Woodard Joins The Series

Via Deadline, we have news that actress Alfre Woodard has been cast as a key villain in Netflix’s Luke Cage. The character of Minetta has been described as “a powerful woman in local politics who will have an impact on Luke Cage’s life.” Rumor has it that the character of Minetta is actually a version of Black Mariah — a popular villain of both Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

Created by Steve Englehart, George Tuska, and Billy Graham, the character of Black Mariah made her first appearance in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #5 (January 1973). Leading a gang known as the Rat Pack, Black Mariah performed a con of using an ambulance to pick up the recently deceased for the purposes of stealing their valuables. She would later clash with Luke Cage when he helps a recently widowed woman look for her husband’s body.

Synopsis: In this Marvel live-action series, a street-fighting ex-con battles crime in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen as the superhero Luke Cage.

Netflix’s Luke Cage is set to premiere all episodes sometime in 2016. Cheo Hodari Coker will serve as the series showrunner, and will star Mike Colter as Luke Cage.

Luke Cage is one of four Marvel/Netflix shows centered around street-level events taking place in New York. The other three are Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist. Like the cinematic universe, all four characters from each show will later converge together in a miniseries event called The Defenders — another superhero team akin to The Avengers.

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