Why this award-winning actor wanted to play the Blade (Vampire Hunter) in the upcoming MCU adaptation of the character
What’s Happening At Marvel?
Amid the writer’s strike in Marvel regarding pay, several upcoming productions including Blade, the MCU take on the Vampire hunter have been halted. While this has slows things down, it doesn’t seem to have weakened Ali’s resolve to play the bring the character back to live after nearly 20 years.
The role, previously played by Wesley Snipes, follows the story of a part-man, part-vampire who becomes a “vampire hunter” and protects the human race from vampires. The reboot of this character, previously scheduled to release in 2024 may be delayed for several months or more due to the strike.
Ali is no stranger to the MCU either, having already voiced the character of Aaron Davis AKA Prowler in Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse and his acting prowess speaks for itself. The actor has established himself in Hollywood whether it is in film(Green Book), TV (True Detective) or voice acting (Into the Spider Verse) and with two academy awards and an Emmy to his name, he would be one of the prolific actors in the MCU.
Ali and Blade
But the actor was drawn to the character of Blade in particular due to the anti-hero and the story behind the character. “I love that [Blade is] darker. That’s all in terms of tone. He’s a little bit darker than some of the other ones and so that element was attractive to me.”
This character is unique as his storylines explore the more thrilling and fantasy aspects of the Marvel Universe as opposed to the tried and tested Mythological and Sci-fi stories.
Therefore, while strikes and conflicts are present behind the screen, I for one hope that Tinseltown brings Ali to the screen and reintroduces Marvel’s Vampire anti-hero to the world sooner rather than later.