The first couple of trailers for the second season of Netflix and Marvel’s Luke Cage were meant to get fans hyped about the new villains the bulletproof protector of Harlem will be facing. Fans of the series have now been introduced to what will serve as the last trailer before the show’s June 22 global release. The trailer shifts focus to Mariah Dillard, played by Emmy-winning actress Alfre Woodard.
The first season of Marvel’s Luke Cage didn’t lack for stirring performances, but even in a crowded field, Woodard stood out. The actor portrayed Mariah Dillard, a Harlem politician who moonlit as a crime lord. In Netflix’s final trailer for the show, Woodard’s character declares with conviction, “Black women have always had superpowers. Turning pain into progress.” She continues, “Harlem doesn’t need a hero. It needs a queen.” Dillard, a politician, proclaims herself as someone who wants to bring “miracles to Harlem,” yet also appears to be raking in money from the guns industry and indirectly causing crimes throughout the city.
However, she’s threatened by two new arrivals in town: a man known as Bushmaster (Mustafa Shakir), who can shrug off bullets just like the invincible Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and a crime lord named Rosalie (Annabella Sciorra), who’s glimpsed toward the end of the teaser.
Fortunately for Mariah, she has a plan to use Luke as protection. Stuck in the middle of the conflict is Cage, seen fighting Bushmaster but proclaimed by Dillard to be “doing our dirty work for us”. Cage’s identity is no longer a secret in season 2, but the hooded hero still seeks to protect those in his hometown of Harlem.
Luke Cage season 2 premieres June 22 on Netflix.
