Meet Bushmaster, the Luke Cage season 2 villain looking to step into Cottonmouth’s shoes

Luke Cage season 1 was a lot of things to a lot of different people. One thing that most agree on, though, is that a certain someone kicked the bucket way too early and their eventual villainous replacement didn’t quite stack up. No worries, though, as Luke Cage season 2 seems to have learned from the lessons of its debut and is giving us one heck of a baddie this time around.

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Speaking to our sister publication SFX magazine, Mustafa Shakir, who will be playing villain Bushmaster in Luke Cage season 2 paints a picture of what we can expect from the man who’s poised to go up against Luke Cage.

“I play John McIver, bushmaster. He’s of Caribbean descent. a Jamaican bad boy. Super-intelligent. really good with his hands and feet, and his head. He’s set on vengeance. He’s got some things that went awry in his youth that he has kept close to his heart, and that he has every intention of seeing through,” Shakir explains.

Like all good villains, however, it appears Bushmaster wants to be a force for good – at least in his own mind. “You can call him a villain,” Shakir says, “He has some inclinations towards behaviours that we would say were rough; but his overall mission is noble.”

Most importantly, for viewers, it looks like Bushmaster will be able to go properly toe-to-toe with Luke Cage (“Somebody he can fight against for real,” according to showrunner Cheo Coker). With his comic book counterpart’s powers including superhuman strength and a unique fighting style, it might just be fate that he and Luke Cage will knock seven shades (no pun intended) out of each other before the season is over.

For more on the big Luke Cage season 2 feature, be sure to pick up the latest issue of SFX magazine, out now.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.