The MCU Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali as the titular superhero has reportedly hired Bassam Tariq to direct. First appearing in Marvel Comics in 1973 created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan as a side character inThe Tomb of Dracula before gaining in his own solo series the following year. A dhampir, or half-vampire, Blade possesses all the strengths of a vampire with none of the weaknesses, allowing him to walk freely in daylight, which earns him the nickname of daywalker from the vampires that he fights.

After a trilogy of successful films from New Line in the early 2000s starring Wesley Snipes, the rights to the character reverted to Marvel Studios in 2012. In 2019, Marvel announced that Mahershala Ali would star in a reboot of the franchise, marking the actor's return to the MCU after briefly playing the villain Cottonmouth in Netflix's Luke Cage. Earlier this year, it was announced that Watchmen writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour would be writing the script for the film, which reportedly helped Marvel narrow down their long list of possible directors.

Related: Where Was Blade During Marvel's Phase 4 Movies Trailer?

According to Deadline, a director for the Blade reboot has now been found, with Bassam Tariq snagging the role. Perhaps best known for directing Mogul Mowgli in 2020, which starred Riz Ahmed, Tariq will be the fourth person of color to direct a Marvel film after Black Panther's Ryan Coogler, Eternals' Chloe Zhao, and The Marvels' Nia DaCosta. The hiring would correspond with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's desire to diversify both the cast and crew of their films, although Marvel is yet to comment on the report.

Blade MCU Movie

Marvel had apparently originally been planning to hire a writer-director for the film but have since decided to separate the two roles. This will likely be a smart decision considering the different strengths that Tariq and Osei-Kuffour will bring to the table. While Tariq only has one major film to date, his hiring does fall in line with Marvel's goals of identifying young and upcoming talent to helm their projects, similar to DaCosta’s hiring to direct the sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel. 

Since the project was announced, fans of Blade have been keen to know who would step into Snipes' shoes and see exactly how the character would be introduced into the MCU. The announcement of Ali as the lead role certainly got fans excited, although information on how he fits into the MCU is still forthcoming. Interestingly, Blade’s powers in the comics originally came from an encounter with Morbius the Living Vampire. With that character set to be played by Jared Leto in the upcoming Morbius, which is set for release in 2022, some have speculated that this could serve as a back-door way of introducing Blade to the MCU early on, even if it is just through a cameo appearance. While Morbius is being produced by Sony, it will tie directly into the MCU with Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture and references to Spider-Man: Far From Home appearing in the first trailer that was released for the film. 

Hopefully, we will receive proper confirmation from Marvel in the next few days about Tariq's hiring. Until that time fans will just have to wait patiently for any new information on the daywalker's long-anticipated arrival in the MCU when Blade begins filming next year.

More: Why Deadpool Should Connect Blade to the MCU

Source: Deadline

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