Mahershala Ali opened up about creating and detailing his version of Blade for the MCU.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get a whole lot bigger now that Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali has been tapped to star as Blade. One of the most iconic characters Marvel has created, Blade was last portrayed on-screen by Wesley Snipes. Decades later, Mahershala Ali is giving the character a whirl, this time putting his own spin on the famed vampire hunter.
While director Bassim Tariq hasn’t filmed a single shot of Blade, Mahershala Ali has already started crafting his take on the anti-hero.
Spoilers ahead for Marvel Studios’ Eternals.
The final post-credits sequence for Eternals saw Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman confronting his family’s legacy and soon-to-be fulfilled destiny as the Black Knight. At the very end of the scene, Mahershala Ali’s Blade appears off-screen. Speaking to Empire, Ali broke down his MCU debut and how he’s already started crafting the character.
“It was really cool, getting to do that. It was scary. Because, you know, you’re talking before you’re filming it. I’m pretty particular about my choices, like most actors, and so having to make some choices – even with a line, vocally – this early on, it brought up some very real anxieties. And it made the job real. It’s like, ‘Okay, this is happening now’, you know, and that’s exciting.”
Ali then continued by discussing how exciting it was to make his debut by popping up in Eternals.
“That Marvel world is obviously the biggest in film, and just to get my little introduction to that – starting with the Comic Con a couple years ago, and now the very early stages of stepping into the shoes of that character – it felt special and really cool. I’m excited to get going and do more.”
Here is the synopsis for Marvel Studios’ Eternals:
“The story takes place across two time periods. One storyline is set in the past when they operated as a formidable team and a close family unit. The second storyline is in the present, when the group has fractured and split apart, content to live among humans, hiding in plain sight. The prevailing threat of the Deviants, which once again threatens the existence of mankind, means the Eternals need to put their differences aside and regroup.”
Chloe Zhao directed Eternals from a script she co-wrote with Patrick Burleigh, Kaz Firpo, and Ryan Firpo. The cast of the Marvel Studios project includes Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, Salma Hayek as Ajak, and Angelina Jolie as Thena.
Eternals is now in theaters. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Empire
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