The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to expand with Blade, the vampire-killing superhero that hasn’t been seen on the big screen since 2004’s Blade: Trinity. Wesley Snipes previously took on the titular role but now Moonlight star Mahershala Ali is commanding the beloved superhero creation. What some fans might not realise is that he has already made an appearance in the MCU. Aaron Pierre’s inclusion has raised even more questions regarding the film.
Pierre is best known for starring in DC’s Krypton series in the role of Dev-Em. He is not the first actor to move from the Warner Brothers universe over to Disney’s crown jewel, as the list includes Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern to Deadpool and Michael Keaton’s batman to Vulture.
Outside of his DC role, Pierre was introduced to a new wave of fans in M Night Shyamalan’s Old which was released in 2021. In the horror flick, he played Mid-Sized Sedan, another poor victim of the film’s ultra-aging beach.
He also appeared in The Underground Railroad as Caesar, the Amazon Prime mini-series written and directed by Barry Jenkins. This is the director behind Moonlight, the film that had Ali in a central role.
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According to Deadline, it is currently unknown who Pierre is playing as Marvel has not released a statement since news broke of his casting. He is joining one of the most highly anticipated projects in Hollywood, especially since Bassam Tariq joined as director last year, the filmmaker behind Mogul Mowgli.
Casting for Blade is ramping up, as another prominent star joined the project recently. The Hollywood Reporter stated that Delroy Lindo joined the film in late 2021.
Best known for his role in The Good Fight, the star is familiar with the Marvel universe. He was cast in Marvel’s Most Wanted, a spin-off of the interquel series Agents of SHIELD, though the show was cancelled before it aired.
The release date for the film remains unclear, though it is expected to premiere in either 2023 or 2024. However, the groundwork for the movie has already been pathed in a previous Marvel instalment.
Warning: The rest of this story includes spoilers for Marvel’s Eternals.
During the post-credits scene of Chloe Zhao’s Eternals, Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman is seen alone in his office. Near the end of the film, he told Gemma Chan’s Sersi that there was something important he had to tell her about his family, though it was never revealed.
This scene gives views some answers. After entering the office, he approaches a chest that appears to be drawing him closer. After opening it, there is a huge sword that appears to be clad in strange black magic.
Before grabbing it, Ali’s Blade can be heard offscreen saying: “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
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The star later confirmed the cameo while talking to Empire Magazine, setting up his film years in advance.
He said: “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.”
The new Blade was announced at Comic-Con 2019 and Ali has had to keep quiet about it since. He added: “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”
