The Oscar-winning Hollywood actor delves into his motivations for being Marvel Studios’ new vampire slayer; African American screenwriters wanted.
Since its official confirmation at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con, little has been known of the film project led by Marvel Studios to recover one of its darkest characters, Blade, now played by Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali. Now, and thanks to two different pieces of news, we compile the latest news that brings this new film a little closer, even though The Hollywood Reporter assures that it is still very green. So much so, that Marvel Studios is looking for African-American screenwriters; In addition, its protagonist talks about his motivations for playing Blade, as well as the legacy of Wesley Snipes, the previous actor in charge of giving life to the vampire hunter, yes, long before the UCM began.
Blade follows the inclusive style of Black Panther
Thus, and through statements made a few weeks ago, Mahershala Ali explains the reasons that led him to the character of Blade; And since his role as a villain in the Netflix series Luke Cage, he was already interested in Marvel’s vampire hunter: “What are they doing with Blade?” character in one way or another, discovering that “in the television division [de Marvel] They really wanted to do a TV series again, but they were still trying to acquire the rights, so it took a couple of years, “says the actor.
“It was really my involvement with Luke Cage that sparked the idea, heavily inspired by the work of Wesley Snipes, and what he had done, and how much that had changed since his iteration of Blade, and how that had ushered in this era of comics. from Marvel and DC. I just wanted to be considered for it because I definitely had a connection, at least in my mind, with Wesley Snipes, from high school when people used to joke and say we looked alike, ”Ali says.
“I was really inspired by his work, and many others, but Wesley in particular. I really wanted to get hold of that role, and tackle that, and I also love that it’s darker […], and that is why it attracts me ”, concludes the actor.
On the other hand, Marvel Studios is looking for African-American scriptwriters for Blade, thus maintaining the trend of building an inclusive project as they did at the time with Black Panther. “Current projects that studios hope to populate with black talent behind the scenes include the movie Marvel’s Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, who is looking for writers,” they point out from The Hollywood Reporter.
