Luke Cage Mahershala Ali is Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes

[Web-Head]

“Marvel’s Luke Cage” has found its Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes with the casting of Mahershala Ali (“House of Cards,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay –Parts 1 & 2&#8221. The series will premiere in 2016 everywhere that Netflix is available.

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&#8221 will play the charismatic lead character, Luke Cage, in the series. Cheo Hodari Coker (“SouthLAnd,” “Ray Donovan&#8221 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.

http://marvel.com/news/tv/25051/mah...the_netflix_original_series_marvels_luke_cage

 

[Blind_Lawyer]

I love it when a plan comes together. Or, a Netflix series about Luke Cage rather.

First Misty and now Cottonmouth. It's starting to all pan out!

 

[Pokkle]

He was nice in House of Cards.

 

[Dr. Evil]

He was nice in House of Cards.

Spoiler

What happened to his character there? I have not watched the show beyond season one.

 

[Pokkle]

Spoiler

What happened to his character there? I have not watched the show beyond season one.

Spoiler

I still no have finish season 3 so I don't know if something happen to him.

 

[Boy Scout]

I like him on HOC. Glad he's joining LC.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Whoa, I hadn't been following the news for this show at all. This guy should be a great villain. He was awesome on HOC.

 

[BarryAllen]

Cheo Hodari Coker teases Cottonmouth as the next great villain character:

https://twitter.com/cheo_coker/status/731971760304721920

Simon Adebisi...Stringer Bell...Rowan Pope...Cottonmouth. Don't believe me? Just watch on September 30th.

Sounds like he's going to be pretty intimidating.

 

[Hypestyle]

so will this version of Cottonmouth have any powers?

 

[chamber-music]

I don't think he will have any powers.

 

[BarryAllen]

I don't think he will have any powers.

Yeah, I don't think he'll have any powers either.

But I do think they might adapt parts of Power Man #19-20, where Cage discovers Cottonmouth and joins his gang as a way of infiltrating them and putting and end to them. The leaked post on reddit mentioned him being a dishwasher at a gangster-owned nightclub, which is most likely Cottonmouth's (as it fits what they've described of him). It'd also explain the set photos of Cage dressed up with a shirt with holes that looks like someone shot him:

And it's along the lines of how Cottonmouth dresses:

So maybe Cottonmouth's henchmen shoot at Cage after realizing that he's undercover? I'm thinking that it'll go something like this:

Cage discovers Cottonmouth's criminal activities during his night shift as a dishwasher for Cottonmouth's club and find out it's related to the heroin Willis Stryker used to get him framed and sent to prison. Cage will follow this lead and join Cottonmouth's gang in order to find out more and etc. Eventually Cottonmouth will realize that Cage is a traitor and will send people after him, leading to Cage how we see him in the set photo and eventually Cage and Cottonmouth into conflict.

And the other storylines will be intertwined with this. Misty Knight and Rafael Scarfe's investigation into who Luke Cage is, Shades and his ties to both Cage and Cottonmouth (you can see him in the above photo next to Cottonmouth, and the offical description from Marvel hinted at his ties to Cage's past, implying their time together as part of the Rivals with Stryker and Comanche), as well as Black Mariah and her political exploits (who they've mentioned is cousins with Cottonmouth in this incarnation and will most likely be corrupt and helping Cottonmouth while negatively affecting the community for their gain).

 

[BarryAllen]

http://mcuexchange.com/mahershala-ali-on-the-cultural-importance-of-luke-cage/

Mahershala Ali describes Cottonmouth as a "Godfather-type villain”

 

[BarryAllen]

http://deadline.com/2016/08/house-of-cards-mahershala-ali-luke-cage-emmys-interview-1201804503/

Mahershala Ali talks about playing Cottonmouth and talks about his motivations:

In terms of series work, it’s definitely the most present I’ve personally ever been in a series, and the most demanding [experience], I would say. As much as it’s in that comic book world, and we’re all very aware that it’s a degree removed from our own reality, as an actor, playing a guy who is struggling with some of the things that he’s struggling with—who is trying to maintain a hold over his business, over his industry—there’s an aspect of family legacy, manhood, responsibility; these things that Luke Cage begins to be a threat toward.

I think you start seeing somebody who will do anything to protect what he has, and can justify that because he is so threatened by the introduction of this new person in Harlem, who is learning to take everything away from him. So the things that he has to do that are not necessarily par for the course, or what he would do everyday, I think it’s really trying for him—and therefore, it was hard for me, at a certain point, to go home and let that go at night. It was a stretch, but I loved it. What I’ve seen [of the series], I think is a really good offering for that genre.

http://www.gq.com/story/mahershala-ali-interview
Ali describes his playlists he uses for the characters he plays (this one regarding Cottonmouth):

For Cottonmouth I used a wide range of music because he is a musician. I also wanted to be mindful of the fact that he was from Harlem. So some of the hip hop I used was specific to artists from uptown and the Bronx: Big L, Diamond D, Brand Nubian; as well as D'Angelo, Mobb Deep, Kanye, and Erykah Badu.

 

[TheVileOne]

Mahershala Ali is great in this show, and he's got swag.

 

[BarryAllen]

New clip featuring Cottonmouth

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0pSQOqwQTNw

 

[JB-the-Hunter]

Mahershala Ali is great in this show, and he's got swag.

How does he compare to the other Netflix antagonists? Also, does he get a little bit more comic booky as time goes on?

 

[henry_9305]

How does he compare to the other Netflix antagonists? Also, does he get a little bit more comic booky as time goes on?

I know you're not asking me but still I want to share my thought because Cottonmouth was my favorite part of the show.

To me, Cottonmouth is just as good as Fisk and Kilgrave, if not better. There are some similarities between him and Fisk but they still managed to make him unique. I'd say he is the most human character among the three.

I don't remember he ever acted comic booky but the man sure loves to laugh during a conversation. t:

 

[TheVileOne]

How does he compare to the other Netflix antagonists? Also, does he get a little bit more comic booky as time goes on?

I definitely see some similarities between him and Fisk. And that's not meant to be a knock on him. The characters are very different, but they were both generally powerful crime bosses of their respective districts. Fisk had bad place's Kitchen, and Stokes has Harlem.

I can't get really too detailed about what I saw and watched with Stokes. But the character does have a complex and interesting backstory. Like with Fisk, you do understand what ultimately creates "Cottonmouth."

He's got a lot of swag, and he likes to big boy people.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Did they ever explain his nickname? Was it just really subtle and I missed it?

 

[Flint Marko]

Did they ever explain his nickname? Was it just really subtle and I missed it?

I believe it was from

Spoiler

him putting cotton in his mouth after Pops beat him up when they were younger.

 

[Shazam]

Did they ever explain his nickname? Was it just really subtle and I missed it?

He lost some teeth in a fight

 

[Guard82]

I really enjoyed Cottonmouth in this show. He was a very interesting, well-written villain like Kingpin and Kilgrave, with a ton of rich character development. Mahershala Ali did a fantastic job of portraying Stokes, showing him to be powerful, prideful, and ruthless, while also tormented by his past and by the pressures of trying to maintain his control over Harlem's underworld. Ali brought so much class and gravitas to the role, and did a good job of showing how cultured and sophisticated Stokes was.

 

[Lencho01]

[YT]sSPkx294gTc[/YT]

 

[Wildcard]

Really loved Ali's portrayal & wish we could see more of him. He was just so damn captivating that when he wasn't on screen I constantly found myself wishing he was. Kudos all across the board.

 

[Hypestyle]

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It's too bad that his character ended up being killed. I would have liked to see him survive, and have a partnership with Wilson Fisk, to explore what type of tension could be developed from that.