10 Years Ago, Mahershala Ali Made His First MCU Debut
And, it seems, his last.
The “will they, won’t they” story of whether or not the Marvel Cinematic Universe is making a new Blade comics adaptation, starring Mahershala Ali as the vampire anti-hero, seems to have come to an end in 2026. Despite an initial announcement, many years of creative team changes, a vocal cameo in the 2021 film Eternals, and a cheeky meta-joke in Deadpool and Wolverine, it’s not happening. Both Kevin Feige and Ali agree that the film’s cancellation is the biggest failure of Feige’s career. On social media, you might come across Marvel fans joking that the powers that be have actually “fumbled” Ali twice, because 10 years ago, the Academy Award winning actor made his MCU debut in a very different project as the villain in Luke Cage season 1.
Created by Cheo Hodari Coker, Luke Cagewas Marvel Television’s third street-level superhero series on Netflix following Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Mike Colter, who plays the bullet-proof hero of Harlem, first debuted in the latter. The first season follows him as Luke returns to his neighborhood and quietly uses his super strength and impenetrable skin to fight local crime while working at a barbershop and a nightclub.
Ali played Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, an arms dealer and the owner of said nightclub, called Harlem’s Paradise, at the beginning of the series. The Marvel comics supervillain Cottonmouth first appeared in 1974. In the comics, he has powers of his own: strength that matches Luke Cage and razor-sharp teeth that will bite you.
On the show, Cottonmouth did not have superpowers. He was the cool, calm, and corrupt foil to Luke’s clean-spoken, goody goody hero. (Steve Rogers may have earned himself a reputation for saying “language” once in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Luke keeps an actual swear jar.) His ruthless ambition to rule over Harlem forced Luke into a leadership position that, like all reluctant heroes, he never actually wanted. Cottonmouth had impeccable style, a loyal enough sidekick in Theo Rossi’s Shades, and a powerful accomplice in his councilwoman cousin Mariah Dillard, played by Alfre Woodard. The verbal sparring scenes between Ali and Woodard are some of the best in the MCU.
Unfortunately, Ali’s character was quite literally short-lived on the series. Spoiler alert, Cottonmouth dies in Season 1, Episode 7. A new villain, Willis “Diamondback” Stryker, played by Eric LaRay Harvey, faced off against Luke in the back half. As a result, some fans have since formed the opinion that Marvel wasted Ali’s talent. However, as Coker himself recently confirmed on social media, that was the plan from the beginning:
“I didn’t fumble the bag the first time,” Coker tweeted. “He took the role because it was a limited appearance. He was always going to die in episode 7, by design. He made Luke Cage, Hidden Figures, and Moonlight simultaneously. He was killing it on Luke Cage and Marvel TV and the other actors begged me to change my mind, which would have locked him into a long term contract (and cost him the Green Book Oscar) but I kept my word to him on a handshake. That’s why we’re friends to this day. Always keep your word.”
That’s the price you pay for talent, sometimes, especially on television. Scheduling is not easy! It’s one of many reasons that television shows often have years-long hiatuses these days. After putting its hero through the wringer and multiple Big Bads, Luke Cage was canceled after two seasons and shuttered alongside the rest of the Defenders universe and Marvel Television itself. The studio pivoted its television content to the then nascent Disney+ under the Marvel Studios banner and Feige himself. Since then, Colter has been “recanonized” into the MCU on Daredevil: Born Again. A few other characters from the Netflix shows have made the jump.
In addition, several actors have played multiple characters in the MCU in the 18 years since its inception. That includes Willard herself, who also appeared in Captain America: Civil War in a brief cameo as the mother of a Soko. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Gemma Chan, Michelle Yeoh, and Patton Oswalt are some other notable examples
Ali instead pitched himself for a Blade film to Marvel Studios in 2019, after his second Oscar win, and Feige announced both him and the project at San Diego Comic-Con that summer. From 2021 to 2023, the trades reported a revolving door of writers and directors. In 2024, Marvel Studios removed the title from their upcoming slate. Finally, in summer 2026, Ali confirmed that he had officially exited the project. Give up the ghost. It’s not happening.
With the MCU’s ongoing obsession with multiverse storytelling, there is a world in which Ali could reprise his role as Cottonmouth in the MCU proper, now that Blade is off the table. But the time has probably passed. The bridges may not be burned, but won’t likely be crossed. At least we got Ali’s intelligent and terrifying performance in Luke Cage, that was decidedly not a fumble and stands the test of time a decade later.
Luke Cage streams on Disney+.
- Netflix
- Superheroes
- Marvel Universe
