Fifteen years after the final installment, Marvel is ready to rebrand the Blade franchise and fully incorporate the hero into the MCU. The three previous films starred Wesley Snipes and when news first started circling many believed that the actor would be reprising the role. However, it has been officially announced at the San Diego Comic con that the franchise is getting fresh blood with the casting of Mahershala Ali as the titular hero. Ali is no stranger to Marvel, having previously portrayed the villain Cottonmouth on the Netflix series Luke Cage, and has gained a large fanbase thanks to his role in the movies Moonlight, and The Greenbook, so this only adds to the buzz surrounding the future film.
Given how tightly woven the MCU is, and the theory that Spider man will be the anchor of the universe, my first thought was that the best villain choice would be Morbius, a character who has crossed paths with both Blade and Spider Man in the comics. This is tricky given that Jared Leto is currently cast as the character for a stand alone film by Fox set to debut next year but with Marvel you never. know. Of course, since the original Blade trinity practically chronicled the life of Blade's mentor Whistler Marvel could opt to focus on the hero's origin. Details are scarce at this point, and even with the announcement of the 8 films of Phase 4 Blade isn't listed, so we probably won't see anything until late 2020 or early 2021 potentially making it part of Phase 5.
The original Blade trilogy grossed more than a combined $415 million at the box office and paved the way for the modern day superhero movie genre.
