Marvel Locks In Director for Highly-Anticipated 'Blade' Reboot

Mogul Mowgli director, Bassam Tariq, is set to lead the production of Marvel's incoming Blade update.

With Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse officially underway, the comic-book-giant-turned-blockbuster-film-factory is putting together the pieces for an upcoming big-screen reboot of Blade with Mahershala Ali at its vampire-slaying center.

According to a recent Deadline report, the film now has a director in place, locking in Bassam Tariq for the coveted slot. Though a deal has yet to be inked, it appears Tariq is in the final stages of negotiations with Marvel, who has been predictably hushed up on all things associated with future releases. With just one feature film under his belt to date, Blade will set Tariq up for a breakout moment, following the critically praised 2020 picture, Mogul Mowgli. The hiring of Tariq expands Marvel's diversity initiative by adding a sixth filmmaker of color to the MCM, following Ryan Coogler (Black Panther,) Chloé Zhao (Eternals,) Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings,) Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok,) and Nia DaCosta, who just signed on to direct a sequel to Captain Marvel.

We'll likely have to wait out the next casting and crew update, but Blade's production team is slowly and surely filling out. Last month, Marvel announced Emmy-nominated Watchmen and Pen15 writer, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, will be handling the script for Blade in her feature film debut. And while Ali should make for a formidable vamp hunter, Marvel's hard-pivot to multiple realities and timelines leaves plenty of room for some form of a return from Wesley Snipes, who popularized Blade in the original three-film run in the early-2000s. Hell, if Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Men get to run amok in the multiverse alongside Tom Holland, Snipes deserves a look for at least cameo.

Stay tuned for more details in the months ahead.