Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 casts Wonder Man’s Joe Pantoliano in the final chapter of the crime drama

Power Book III: Raising Kanan is a spinoff of the original Power and follows a young Kanan Stark, the role Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson made his name in as the onetime series regular and Power executive producer. The series follows the complicated relationship between brash young Kanan and ambitious mother Raquel ‘Raq’ Thomas as they navigate the family’s ascent in New York’s drug business, exploring loyalty, betrayal, and the price of power.

And now, as its fifth and final season approaches, Power Book III: Raising Kanan will introduce a new player in its underworld moonscape. Joe Pantoliano, mostly people know him as Marvel's “Wonder Man”, as he signed on for the final chapter in a recurring guest role.

Here is what we know more about the new casting news.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 casts Wonder Man’s Joe Pantoliano. Here's what we know

Pantoliano in Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 will play Pino Bernardi, the boss of the Manhattan Mafia. He is portrayed as supremely confident, speaking softly. He is not without power, but the boss. With Kanan breaking out of Queens and into new territory, the arrival of a Manhattan Mafia boss presages raising stakes and potentially new alliances or rivalries that may define the series’ concluding act.

Pantoliano has over five decades of film and television experience, and is a perfect fit for a high-stakes crime drama. He is best known for his roles in films such as The Matrix and Bound and is also well-known for his Emmy-winning performance on The Sopranos. He has long been a standout in ensemble crime stories in which he plays volatile but meticulously plotting figures. Most recently, he appeared in “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” “Dexter: Original Sin,” Marvel’s “Wonder Man” and received an Emmy nomination for his work in The Last of Us.

What else do we know about Power Book III: Raising Kanan season 5

Power Book III: Raising Kanan is the next chapter in the growing Power Universe, following the original series and leading to more spinoffs that will explore different facets of the franchise’s criminal empire.

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Season 5 is showrunning and executive producing by Sascha Penn. The series is executive-produced by Courtney A. Kemp. Along with its premiere, the series has set itself apart by opting for a character narrative that is grounded in family drama and competition psychology within crime. Instead of following an established kingpin, “Raising Kanan” focuses on the origins of one, depicting the ethical trade-offs and changing loyalties that convert a naive teenager into a seasoned operator in the drug trade. The inclusion of Pino Bernardi, in particular, hints that the finale may expand past street-level conflicts to delve into larger organized crime networks, possibly bringing Kanan into a larger criminal ecosystem.

With the series ending, it makes sense that the “possibility” of a veteran actor like Pantoliano coming onboard is being floated as the series intends to bring its story to a heavy, somber conclusion. A mob boss who radiates understated menace and silent power could be an older brother figure, a business partner, or a nemesis. One way or another, Season 5 is set up for a final clash that will no doubt live up to the franchise’s legacy, as tensions boil over and power shifts dramatically. In Kanan’s full circle story, reminding viewers that in the Power Universe, power is never given without a price.

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