"Captain America: Civil War" has seemingly stuffed every single Marvel Cinematic Universe character (sans Thor and The Hulk) into its ensemble cast. But with just one month exactly until the film's release, the cast is still growing. According to a recent report, actress Alfre Woodard is also in the film, which means "Civil War" may have even more MCU connections than was originally thought.
For those of you that don't know (which is probably almost everyone), Woodard has been cast as a New York politician "Minetta"/possible villain Black Mariah in Netflix's upcoming "Luke Cage" series. Woodard is specifically listed as a cast member of "Civil War" on the premiere guest list - where as "Daredevil," "Agents of SHIELD" cast members and even Luke Cage himself, Mike Colter, are all listed as "special guests." Curious, no?
Based on this information, we'd assume that Woodard's "Luke Cage" character would be receiving some type of minor introduction in "Civil War" before the Netflix series debuts sometime later this year. However, according to a recent rumor, that may not actually be true. Instead, it's being said that Woodard is actually playing two completely different roles in "Civil War" and "Luke Cage."
Another site claims that Woodard has a very minor role near the beginning of "Civil War" in which she plays the mother of an American citizen killed during the climax of "Avengers: Age of Ultron." She is said to confront Tony Stark and lay blame on him for the death of her son. This is reportedly a major catalyst for Stark's decision to support the regulation and oversight of superheroes.
This doesn't necessarily exclude her from playing her same "Luke Cage" character. In fact, it would provide an understandable motivation for her becoming a villain in the Netflix series. But it's also possible that this is merely an example of Marvel employing a solid actress in two different capacities. After all, there has been a growing divide between the studio's film and television properties recently, despite their insistence to the contrary.
As of now, this is all just speculation. We'll find out for sure who Woodard is playing when "Captain America: Civil War" finally arrives on May 6.
