Blade Cast: Who's in Marvel's Blade Reboot
Mia Goth is sinking her teeth into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The X and Pearl star is the latest to join Mahershala Ali in Marvel Studios' Blade reboot, first announced by producer Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. Two-time Oscar winner Ali leads the new movie from first-time Marvel director Yann Demange (White Boy Rick, HBO's Lovecraft Country) and takes over the role from Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks, the half-human, half-vampire Daywalker known as Blade the Vampire Hunter. Between 1998 and 2004, Snipes portrayed the character in a trilogy that co-starred Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, Donal Logue, N'Bushe Wright, Ron Perlman, Norman Reedus, Jessica Biel, and Ryan Reynolds.
Marvel Studios has begun assembling a new cast for the rebooted Blade, reportedly darker and edgier than most Marvel fare. Based on characters created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan, Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Hunters, HBO's Watchmen) and Michael Starrbury (Legends of Chamberlain Heights, When They See Us) wrote the movie hailing from producers Feige and Eric Hausermann Carroll (Spider-Man: Far From Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).
Marvel's Blade Cast
Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage, Moonlight) will play Eric Brooks, the legendary human-vampire hybrid hunter who monsters have come to fear as the killing machine Blade. A skilled swordsman and martial artist, Blade stalks the streets as a Daywalker: he has the strengths of vampires and none of their weaknesses. Ali's Blade made a voice-only cameo in the post-credits scene of Eternals, speaking to Dane Whitman (Kit Harington), owner of the cursed Ebony Blade.
Ali, whose credits include House of Cards, True Detective, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is a two-time winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his roles in Moonlight and Green Book.
Delroy Lindo
Tony and SAG Award-nominated actor Delroy Lindo was the second actor cast in an undisclosed role in Blade. The veteran actor is known for his collaboration with filmmaker Spike Lee — Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Clockers, and Da 5 Bloods — and the films The Cider House Rules, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Get Shorty. More recently, Lindo starred in the series The Good Fight and played U.S. Marshall Bass Reeves in The Harder They Fall.
Lindo is potentially playing Jamal Afar, Eric's vampire-hunting foster father who mentored the Daywalker in becoming Blade.
Aaron Pierre
Aaron Pierre, known for his role as Dev-Em in the DC Comics-inspired series Krypton and for playing the rapper "Mid-Sized Sedan" in the M. Night Shyamalan-directed Old, is also cast in an undisclosed role. Pierre is reportedly playing a "highly coveted part" in Blade, suggesting a villainous role. In the comics, Blade's rogue's gallery includes the vampires Deacon Frost, Baron Blood, and Dracula; the half-demon Blackout; and Morbius the Living Vampire.
Mia Goth
Mia Goth — a rising horror talent who starred as murderer Maxine Minx / Pearl in X, its prequel Pearl, and the upcoming X sequel MaXXXine — is the latest addition to join the Blade cast in an undisclosed role. Goth's credits include Everest, A Cure for Wellness, and Brandon Cronenberg's sci-fi horror Infinity Pool.
Goth's role is unknown, but the English actress resembles Rachel van Helsing, an England-born human vampire and ancestor of Van Helsing. In the comics, Rachel sought vengeance against her parents' killer, Vlad Dracula, and fought alongside Blade and like-minded vampire hunters Quincy Harker; mute vampire Taj Nital; and Frank Drake, a distant descendant of Dracula who once served as a member of the Nightstalkers.
Marvel Studios' Blade is scheduled to open September 6th, 2024 in theaters.