Now that Vincent D’Onofrio and Daredevil have proven that “bad guy in a Netflix Marvel series” is a surprisingly good way for a respected actor to remind people how they got so respected in the first place, it looks like Oscar-nominated actress Alfre Woodard might be getting in on the fun. Woodard is in serious talks to appear in Luke Cage, the third series in Netflix and Marvel’s four-series deal. (The second, A.K.A. Jessica Jones, will come out some time this year, with Krysten Ritter in the starring role.)
Deadline reports that Woodard will be playing “Minetta, a powerful woman in local politics who will have an impact on Luke Cage’s life,” but also hints that the character might be an update of ’70s Cage villain Black Mariah, a 400-pound crime lord who seems like she was invented to give Luke his own Kingpin-esque figure to fight. It seems remote that we’ll see Woodard climbing into a fat suit for the role, but the thought of the celebrated actress operating as a sinister crime boss opposite Mike Colter’s convict-turned-hero-for-hire certainly isn’t an unwelcome one.