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"Luke Cage" villain joins James Cameron movie

"Luke Cage" villain joins James Cameron movie

6 Oct – Mahershala Ali, who currently can be seen in the Marvel Netflix series, "Luke Cage", as the villain Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes, is in talks to star in a bigger project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 42-year-old actor is in talks to star in the James Cameron-produced "Alita: Battle Angel".

Should he agree to sign on the dotted line, he will be joining cast members Christoph Waltz ("The Legend Of Tarzan"), Rosa Salazar ("Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials"), Jackie Earle Haley ("London Has Fallen", TV's "Preacher") and Ed Skrein ("Deadpool").

Based on the 1990 Japanese manga series created by Yukito Kishiro, "Alita: Battle Angel" is originally scheduled to be James Cameron's next directorial project. His long commitment over his own "Avatar" sequels later prompted him to drop out, though he remained as one of the producers alongside Jon Landau.

The upcoming manga adaptation will be handled by "Desperado" and "Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez.

Set in the 26th century, "Alita: Battle Angel" revolves around a female cyborg hunter (Rosa Salazar) who is found in a scrapyard and brought back to life by a scientist (Christoph Waltz). Ali is slated to play a villain named Vector who organises matches in a gladiator-style tournament known as Motorball.

Apart from "Luke Cage", Ali also previously starred in "Free State Of Jones" alongside Matthew McConaughey, TV's "House Of Cards", and "Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1" as well as its sequel.