Why Marvel Is Making Blade with Mahershala Ali According to Kevin Feige

This is what happens when the right people call up Marvel Studios.


When IGN had the chance to speak to Marvel's Kevin Feige after the panel, we asked why now was the right time for Blade, and why Ali was the right star to play him. The answer was simple: "They're the same answer: Blade now because of Mahershala, and Mahershala because he loves Blade."

Watch the full IGN interview with Feige:
Feige explained to The Hollywood Reporter that Ali came to meet with Marvel Studios after he won the Oscar for Green Book and said he wanted to do Blade. "When Mahershala calls, you answer," he said.

Ali previously appeared in the Marvel universe in the Netflix series Luke Cage, where he portrayed the villain Cottonmouth. He also voiced Uncle Aaron in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

In an interview with Collider, Kevin Feige confirmed that Blade will not be a part of phase four of the MCU.

Here's our full breakdown of what happened in the Marvel Studios panel:
Hopefully there will be more information about the Blade film released at the upcoming D23 convention in August.

Blade previously was adapted as a trilogy of movies starring Wesley Snipes, the first of which was released in 1998. The Blade movie predates both the Spider-Man and X-Men movies in helping jump-start the current popularity of superhero films. Sticky Fingaz also played Blade in the 2006 television series that aired on Spike.
Marvel Phase 4 Comic Con Panel
The Blade comics were created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciler Gene Colan and first appeared in The Tomb of Dracula #10 in July of 1973.

Also announced during Marvel's Comic-Con panel was 10 other movies and TV shows that will round out Phase 4. See the full list by clicking through the slideshow below:
Marvel Phase 4: Official Lineup
Meanwhile, Feige also confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Fantastic Four and X-Men movies are in the works. He also talked to IGN about how the Marvel X-Men movies will be different than the Fox X-Men movies, as well as why there is no Avengers movie in Phase 4.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said Mahershala Ali won his Oscar for Green Room, when it was in fact for Green Book. IGN regrets this error.
