It is safe to say that Person of Interest actor Mahershala Ali (left) has gotten his breakthrough role as villain “Cottonmouth” Stokes on Marvel and Netflix’s Luke Cage, because he is up for a role in an upcoming live-action adaptation.

Ali is up for a role in Battle Angel Alita, the live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga and anime that Robert Rodriguez is directing and James Cameron is producing. If he signs, Ali will play a villain named Vector, who runs MotorBall, a Thunderdome-esque arena.

Ali would join the already cast Rosa Salazar in the title role, Ed Skrein in the role of lead villain Zapan, Jackie Earle Haley in an unspecified role, and Christoph Waltz as Alita’s rebuilder, Dr. Dyson Ido.

The film is set to begin filming soon with a release date of July 20, 2018.

H/T: The Wrap