It has been over twenty years since the first Blade movie came out with 90s action hero actor Wesley Snipes. For many fans of the trilogy, it was hard to say goodbye to the actor that brought the day-walking vampire to life in the late 90s and early 2000s. But Marvel has found the best possible replacement for the role in two-time Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali.
Now, the director for the new Blade movie Bassam Tariq has finally given us a few hints on what his vision for the reboot will be.
Even though production for the Blade reboot won’t start until July of 2022 director Bassam Tariq spoke to IndieWire a little on the character, his vision for the reboot, and the legacy left behind by Wesley Snipes.
As is the norm with new Marvel/ Disney productions everything is being kept very secretive, visionary director Tariq was able to tell us only this much: “What’s exciting about the film that we’re making is there hasn’t been canon for Blade as we’re reading through the comics and everything. Him being a Daywalker is the one thing that’s been established,” This might mean that scriptwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour will take the character down a whole different path than its predecessor.
Tariq also had this to say about the legacy left behind by Wesley Snipes’ contribution to the character and the MCU as a whole: “we can’t deny what Wesley Snipes did, which was basically he got this whole ball rolling. A Black Man created the superhero world that we’re in, that’s just the truth.”
He added how grateful he is to be given the opportunity to work alongside his team mates. “For me to be working with somebody so talented and a juggernaut as Mahershala Ali, and the writer Stacey-Osei Kuffour, I’m just so – I’m so honored to be working with real Black juggernauts and Black talent. For me to just be with them in this room and listen and learn as I built this out, it’s really an honor.”
We don’t know much, but what we know for sure is that the combined creativity of three outstanding talents such as Mahershala Ali, Bassam Tariq, and Stacy Osei-Kuffour is going to spin the character and his lore upside down and back up again.