When ‘Luke Cage’ Season 2 finally gets around to airing on Netflix (not that we have to wait long to see Luke again as he will be back next month in ‘The Defenders’) there will be some new faces amongst the cast. Marvel and Netflix recently announced two new additions which they seem very excited about.
Mustafa Shakir (‘The Deuce,’ ‘The Night Of’) joins the cast as John McIver, aka the Bushmaster, a powerful crime boss who in the comics often clashed with Luke Cage and Iron Fist. He is described as “a natural leader, brimming with charisma, whose mission is focused on Harlem and vengeance.” In the comics, his backstory is that he and his brother Quincy came from a downtrodden life in the Caribbean, but were smart enough to escape and come to New York, where they turned to a life of crime.
Gabrielle Dennis (‘Insecure,’ ‘Rosewood’) plays the character of Tilda Johnson, aka Nightshade, “who is a brilliant, holistic doctor with a complicated history in Harlem where, as much as she tries to stay far from trouble, it seems to always find her.” In the comics, Nightshade was born with an early affinity for science, but chose to use those gifts for crime instead of helping people, though there was a period where she did help Misty Knight battle a group known as the “Villains for Hire,” which could be an interesting direction for the show to take her character in the series.
According to executive producer Jeph Loeb on the casting decision:
“Mustafa’s incredible presence and power ignited us from our first meeting, and Gabrielle brings the charm and smarts to a very complicated role. Both will be wonderful additions to our already magnificent cast.”
Fellow executive producer Cheo Hodari Coker continued the praise of the new actors, stating:
“I can’t wait for audiences to see the compelling paces we put both Mustafa and Gabrielle through. From the moment you see each of them on screen, I feel they will be powerful additions to the world of Marvel and Harlem’s Luke Cage.”
What do you think about the new characters and the actors portraying them? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
And of course, the official, albeit shortened synopsis for ‘Luke Cage:’
After a sabotaged experiment leaves him with super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage (Mike Colter) becomes a man trying to rebuild his life in modern day Harlem, New York City.
Source: EW
