Marvel Was Discussing a Blade TV Series Before Mahershala Ali Signed on

Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, surprised fans around the world at the end of the company’s 2019 Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con by announced that a brand new Blade film was in the works, with Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali in the titular role. The reveal came when Ali walked onto the stage and put on a Blade hat, sending the audience into a bit of a frenzy. Many wondered if Marvel would ever introduce Blade into the MCU, given the character’s usual brand of blood and violence.

As it turns out, Marvel was actually working on making Blade into a TV series, as opposed to putting him on the big screen. During a recent interview with The Tight Rope podcast, Ali explained that he approached Marvel about playing Blade in a feature film, but that the studio was talking about a TV show at the time.

“So, in doing that show, the day it premiered I had turned to my agent and I had said, ‘What are they doing with Blade?’ Because I kept hearing that they were trying to find a way to remake it and put it back together, and it was exciting for me to get to be in that Marvel space in TV, but for me, my goal had always been film,” Ali said. “So, there was this long process of them speaking about, at least in the television division, really wanted to make it a TV show again, but not necessarily, trying to acquire the rights still, and some thing’s kinda going on, so it took a couple of years.”

Ali went on to say that he’s always felt a connection to Blade because of Wesley Snipes. Earlier in his life, people told Ali that he resembled Snipes.

“For me, I just felt like since they were having conversations about bringing it back into being, I just wanted to be considered for it because I had definitely a connection, at least in my mind, to Wesley Snipes going way back to high school when people used to joke and say we looked alike, and all this stuff,” he added.

Additionally, Ali has always appreciated that Blade is one of the darker Marvel properties, due to its vampire lore and horror tones. The darkness helps Blade stand out from the rest of Marvel’s IP.

“I love that it’s 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,” the actor explained.

Are you looking forward to Mahershala Ali’s version of Blade in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!