New Luke Cage Trailer Focuses On Villains Mariah And Bushmaster

With headlines surrounding Luke Cage Season 2 often focusing on the Iron Fist crossover, it's almost as though everyone forgot Harlem will be in real trouble when the superhero series returns! There will be no forgetting about the return of Mariah Dillard and the debut of Bushmaster after watching Luke Cage's latest action-packed trailer, which sheds a harsh spotlight on both villains' stories going into Season 2.

The good news? Mariah Dillard and Bushmaster don't appear to be friends, so at least Luke won't have to worry about the two immediately joining forces in an effort to bring him down. The bad news? It appears Luke has some sort of innate obligation to protect Mariah from Bushmaster in Season 2, which just has to twist him up inside. One could imagine that if Bushmaster was a bit more focused in his villainous attacks, without just plainly laying waste to the whole city, Luke might be ok with the villain making short work of Mariah for the betterment of the community. But as it's stated in the trailer, "Harlem can only handle one devil."

And what a devil Bushmaster is! With a striking signature look going for him, John McIver stated in the trailer he believes he is owed whatever Mariah has, and it looks like he's going to burn and tear his way through Harlem until he gets what he wants. Mustafa Shakir's intensity in taking on Marvel's update to the Bushmaster character should have Luke Cage fans very excited to see his intimidating performance. Not to mention his character's inevitable showdown with Luke in Season 2. Fans should of course feel confident that Luke will eventually come out on top, but will he be able to stop McIver before he gets to Mariah?

Or maybe it's the other way around. Bushmaster is tough, sure, but we shouldn't act like Mariah is completely helpless without Luke around After all, she's the new crime boss of Harlem, and she's got one of the shadiest right-hand men at her side to make connections and ensure her safety. Shades Alvarez is seen a couple times in this trailer, looking to be in some trouble at one point, with Bushmaster easily able to dodge Shades' gunfire from a point-blank range. This feud looks serious enough that it's almost impossible to believe at least one Luke Cage villain won't fall to another in Season 2. As for who that may be, however, that's anyone's guess.

Luke Cage Season 2 is set to premiere on Netflix on Friday, June 22 at 12:01 a.m. PT. Luke isn't the only superhero jumping back into action in the near future, and comic book fans curious to see what else is coming can find out with our superhero premiere guide. Netflix subscribers wondering what other original shows are headed to the platform should head over to our Netflix premiere guide. Finally, anyone who just loves television and checking out new shows or new seasons of beloved shows needs to head over to our summer premiere guide.