In the immediate years before the X-Men and Spider-Man finally made their film debuts, Marvel superhero Blade got the chance to shine on the silver screen, with Wesley Snipes bringing the Daywalker to life, and then reprising the role for two more movies. Fast-forwarded to the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Blade will be rebooted for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time with Green Book’s and Alita: Battle Angel’s Mahershala Ali playing the role. Now David S. Goyer, the director and writer 2004’s Blade: Trinity, has shared his thoughts on the vampire hunter soon becoming an important player in the MCU.
While promoting his new Apple TV+ series Foundation to Comic Book Resources, David Goyer shared that he’s “thrilled” that a new Blade movie is on the way, as he knows full well that the comic book medium’s ability to present different versions of the same character can also easily be applied to depictions of said character in a cinematic setting. As Goyer explained:
I love it. I mean, one of the things, if you're a comic book fan, there is the 1940s Batman and the 1950s Batman, and then there's the Denny O'Neil and Neil Adams' Batman, and the Frank Miller Batman. They're perennials, and I couldn't be more tickled that another version of Blade is coming out. [Marershala Ali] is certainly one of the most amazing actors working today. I'll be one of the first people to buy a ticket to that film.
The original Blade trilogy is a big part of David Goyer’s career, as in addition to writing all three movies, he executive produced the latter two and, as previously mentioned, sat in the director’s chair for Trinity. Granted, the threequel ended up being a rough experience for all involved, to the point that Patton Oswalt once claimed that Wesley Snipes tried to strangle Goyer during production. But looking at the big picture, Goyer played an integral role in both popularizing Blade for the general public and helping the superhero genre become a bigger deal in Hollywood.
Now with nearly 20 years having passed since Blade: Trinity’s release, David Goyer is looking forward to seeing Mahershala Ali succeed Wesley Snipes as the cinematic Blade, and he’ll gladly buy a ticket for the MCU reboot. Of course, Blade isn’t Goyer’s only foray into comic book movies, with his other credits in that arena including Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Additionally, he developed the short-lived Syfy series Krypton and is one of the executive producers on Netflix’s upcoming The Sandman series.
Marvel Studios is keeping mum on what we can expect from the Blade reboot’s story, and Mahershala Ali is still the only actor who’s publicly attached. Behind the scenes though, Watchmen’s Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired in February to write the script, and earlier this month, it was announced that Mogul Mowgli’s Bassam Tariq will direct the movie. Blade is reportedly expected to begin filming in July 2022.
Learn what else the MCU has primed for theatrical release with our upcoming Marvel movies guide, and for those of you interested in David Goyer’s work, the first two episodes of Foundation premiere on Apple TV+ tomorrow, September 24.
