Luke Cage showrunner says Mustafa Shakir perfect Bushmaster-role

The moment American actor Mustafa Shakir left the test reading for the script of Luke Cage Season 2, the showrunner made the call that he would be cast as Bushmaster.

During Saturday's Netflix panel discussion at the AsiaPop Comic Con, series executive producer Cheo Hodari Coker said that Shakir possessed the qualities that made him perfect for the character, John McIver, also known as Bushmaster, the antagonist to Marvel hero Luke Cage played by Mike Colter.

Iron Fist’s Finn Jones joins Luke Cage’s Mike Colter, Mustafa Shakir, and Cheo Hodari Coker at the APCC Netflix panel pic.twitter.com/OwViFmuPyO

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"There was a confidence, there was a poise. Everything that you see in him as Bushmaster, he got it right then. And so it's one of things where you hope everybody else sees what I'm seeing so it doesn't have a fight," explained Coker.

"As soon as he walked out of the room I was like, yeah. Make the call."

However, Shakir revealed that he only found out that he had landed the role three days after the read.

"They told me things like, 'It was really good'," he laughingly recalled, remembering the noncommittal assurances he was given.

Shakir also said that that working atmosphere with other actors, producers, and staff, starting from the audition up to the end of filming, was very positive.

Coming into the test reading, Shakir said that he was really nervous, but the soon disappeared when he acted out a scene in which he shoots Coker and the latter falls to the ground.

"At that moment in time, it just brought me back into the room, because he was participating, he was playing with me,"  Shakir explained. "From that moment on it was just good vibes... it's just a continuation of that moment."

Bushmaster is Luke Cage's new opponent in the second season. The two come head-to-head when Bushmaster's personal mission for vengeance is thwarted by Luke Cage.

Luke Cage seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix. — DVM, GMA News