Mogul Mowgli director Bassam Tariq has confirmed that he will helm the upcoming Blade reboot for Marvel Studios. The up-and-coming filmmaker, whose potential involvement in the project was first reported back in July, has now revealed that he will indeed sit in the director’s chair for Blade, which will bring the beloved vampire hunter into the Marvel Cinematic Universe..
“I didn’t think [‘Blade’] was going to happen, just to be very honest. I’m honored and it’s a privilege, but I’m here in service of Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who is the incredible writer that is writing the film…She’s just a phenomenal presence and a juggernaut in her own right. And for Mahershala [Ali]. For me, it’s really just working in their service….[Marvel] takes big swings, you know?…I can’t say anything about it, but I’m just so excited for what we’re doing.”
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This being a Marvel movie, Tariq is of course forbidden from revealing too much in terms of specific plot or character details, lest he cross the wrath of Kevin Feige, however he was able to offer some clues as to what his intentions are for this new take on Blade.
“Character is very important for me. I don’t think of genre, I think of character. It’s not so boxed in as people imagine it to be [working with Marvel Studios]. It’s quite exciting. And I think the reality is there is no ‘Blade’ canon, you know? If you ever read the comics, they’re always changing…Unfortunately, the [comic book series] never lasted that long.”
So, it sounds like Marvel’s Blade, under the director of Bassam Tariq, will attempt to mix things up in whatever way they can. While the filmmaker claims there is no “canon,” there are some elements which audiences and fans will expect, such as Blade being the Daywalker and possessing all of the strengths of the vampires without any of their weaknesses. Except for the thirst. There is also his black, often leather ensemble and sword, which many are no doubt hoping to see star Mahershala Ali wear and wield.
Very little is currently known about Blade, which some rumors have claimed will be titled Blade: The Vampire Slayer, with Moonlight star Mahershala Ali the only actor attached to the project so far. While Ali is no stranger to the comic book movie genre, the actor has explained in the past exactly why he was drawn to the titular of the Blade reboot in particular saying, “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 back to high school.”
“I just brought it up as someone who really wanted to take on that [Blade] role and tackle that…I love that it’s darker,” he continued. “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.”
Watchmen writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour was recently tapped to pen the script, and while Blade does not yet have a release date, the movie was recently placed on the Marvel calendar between upcoming sequels Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Marvels as part of Phase 4. This comes to us from The Playlist.
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