Blade: Mahershala Ali Wants To Earn His Place Following Wesley Snipes

The actor cast as Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mahershali Ali, says he wants to earn his place as he steps into the role first played by Wesley Snipes. Ali was announced as the new actor taking on Blade back in 2019, with a film planned for a yet-to-be-determined future date. Details about the new Blade film are tightly under wraps, but a script is being written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, whose previous credits include HBO's Watchmen series. Bassam Tariq, best known for helming Mogul Mowgli starring Riz Ahmed, is set to direct Blade.

Most audiences became familiar with Marvel's vampire slayer thanks to Wesley Snipes' 1998 film, Blade. Snipes gave life to Blade, who Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan created in 1973 as a side character in The Tomb of Dracula comics. While the character had existed on the pages of comics for decades, Snipes made the character his own, helping to fashion the Blade audiences know today. Blade was successful, even spawning two sequels, Blade II and Blade: Trinity, before Snipes' time with the role ended. Still, many credit Snipes' Blade with helping to pave the way for the MCU and modern comic book films.

Ali recently spoke with Jake Hamilton on Jake's Takes to promote his new film Swan Song. During the interview, Ali was asked about what he was excited to explore with Blade and how his take may differ from Snipes' performance. Ali responded by saying, "what I look forward to is earning it." He also acknowledged the expectations surrounding Blade given what Snipes brought to the character, saying, "there's an excitement for it that he owns, that Mr. Snipes owns." However, Ali knows that he'll have to impress fans to get over that hurdle, saying, "I'm just working to earn my place in this." Check out Ali's comments below:

"You know, what I look forward to is earning it. I look forward to earning. You know, there’s an anticipation for it, there’s an excitement for it that he owns, that Mr. Snipes owns. And so in filling his shoes, I’m just working to earn my place in this and I’m excited to get going and do the work."

mahershala ali Blade MCU reboot Should Copy From Snipes Trilogy

While it seems unlikely that Snipes would return to the role of Blade, he has reportedly had talks with Marvel. Therefore, given the MCU's new multiverse shakeup, it could be possible that he appears as an alternate version of Blade at some point. Additionally, given what the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailers are insinuating for the MCU's multiverses, Snipes' Blade could be primed for a return. However, Snipes has shown support for Ali taking over the character, even sharing advice for taking on an action-heavy role like Blade.

Since Ali understands the importance of Blade to the fans, he's likely going to give it his all, which says a lot given that he's a two-time Oscar-winner for his roles in Green Book and Moonlight. Following the post-credits scene of the Eternals, Blade has officially been introduced into the MCU, though the scene only featured his voice. While Ali's take on Blade is likely to debut fully in his first solo outing, it would not be out of character for the MCU to introduce him in another film beyond just his voice. Currently, Blade doesn't have a release date, but more details will be forthcoming as the project develops.

Next: How Wesley Snipes' Original Daywalker Could Return In Blade

Source: Jake's Takes