Back in August it was reported that Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives, True Blood) has signed on to appear in the upcoming Luke Cage Netflix series, and now Marvel has confirmed her casting as Mariah Dillard, a.k.a. Black Mariah.
The official site describes Mariah as “a local Harlem politician–and cousin to recently announced Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali)–who is looking to bring a new era of change to the streets she grew up on. Her personal life and professional career are thrown into turmoil by both Harlem’s newest hero Luke Cage as well as her cousin Cottonmouth’s nefarious acts.”
“Alfre has an incredible, unique, and intimidating presence on screen that makes her perfect as a leader of the Harlem community,” said Executive Producer/Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb. “We couldn’t be more excited that an actress as celebrated and talented as Alfre has decided to join us on this adventure.”
UPDATE: Marvel has also confirmed the rest of the cast, which includes Mike Colter (The Following) as Luke Cage, Rosario Dawson (Daredevil) as Claire Temple, Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy) as Shades, Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives) as Black Mariah, Simone Missick (Ray Donovan) as Misty Knight, Mahershala Ali (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) as Cottonmouth and Frank Whaley (Gotham) as Detective Scarfe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=qvTY7eXXIMg
Originally published September 16, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
