Blade, first portrayed by Wesley Snipes in 1998, is one of the most famous vampire hunters you can find, and it turns out the latest actor portraying the character wants to live up to that legacy. Mahershala Ali, announced to be the next face of Blade in the MCU’s upcoming reboot back in 2019, has said that he is looking forward to filling Snipes’ shoes, and “earning his place” as the well-known undead slayer.
In the original 90s movie, Snipes helped break Blade into the mainstream and ushered the character into Marvel’s cinematic portfolio. His performance as the vampire hunter would go on to spawn two sequels – Blade II and Blade: Trinity – and help earn the franchise a cult following that has stood the test of time. During an interview with the YouTube channel Jake’s Takes, Ali was asked what he is excited about for the horror movie, and if his performance of Blade will differ from the version of the character we saw from Snipes.
Ali acknowledged how Snipes contributed to Blade’s popularity, and that he is excited to impress fans as he prepares to bring the popular character into Marvel Phase 4.
“You know, what I look forward to is earning it. I look forward to earning it,” Ali explained. “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.”
Considering that Ali is a two-time Oscar winner for his performances in Green Book and Moonlight, it seems like fans can rest easy knowing that the character Blade is in a set of competent hands. Besides a talented leading star, the new Blade movie will also have an impressive crew. Stacy Osei-Kuffour, the writer of the DCEU TV series Watchmen, is penning the script, while Bassam Tariq, the director of Mogul Mowgli, is helming the monster movie.
Currently, a release date and plot details about the new Blade movie are being kept under wraps. So, we aren’t sure how Ali’s Blade will differ from Snipes’ just yet, or how the actor will “earn” his place as the bloodsucker killer. While we wait on updates, you can get your supernatural fix with our list of the best zombie movies of all time.