Mahershala Ali's Blade: Marvel Starts Search For Black Writers & Filmmakers

By Richard Nebens Posted:
Mahershala Ali Blade

Over the past few years, Hollywood has made a concerted effort to put more minority groups into the spotlight both in front of the cameras and behind them for major blockbuster movies. At the forefront of this movement has been Marvel Studios, notably with the efforts of films like Black Panther . With an all-black cast and crew, the movie shattered the box office and wowed critics and fans alike, even being nominated for seven Academy Awards and winning three of them.

Marvel is looking to expand on this diversity even further during Phase 4 , including for projects like Black Widow , WandaVision , and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier kicking things off over the next six months. This will continue on all throughout the next slate of movie and TV shows with incredibly diverse movies like Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , as well as on the Disney+ side with She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel .

Even further down the road is the MCU reboot of Blade , who not only made a name for himself in one of the first successful superhero movies in the modern era, but also as one of Marvel's most notable African American leading men. The movie is still at least a few years out, but news has come that Marvel Studios has started the search for some of the people needed to make this exciting film.

NEWS

A new piece from the Hollywood Reporter centered around diversity in the modern movie industry has revealed that Marvel Studios is currently looking for writers to take on the new reboot of Blade in the MCU. The team is specifically looking for African-American talent to write the film's script, along with filling other filmmaker positions behind the scenes.

WHAT THIS MEANS

At this moment in time, the only non-producer officially attached to the Blade reboot is Mahershala Ali in the starring role, who not only has made a name for himself as an Academy Award winner, but who is also getting the chance to fully integrate himself into the MCU after his portrayal of Cottonmouth in Netflix's Luke Cage has mostly been recognized as non-canon. He will likely be one of the franchise's most notable stars going into the future, and it's clear that he will be far from the only African-American working on this new project.

With Marvel Studios currently searching for an African-American writing team, it should only be a matter of time before more information comes unveiling more major players connected to this film . Blade is just one of so many projects Marvel Studios is using to help diversify Hollywood even further over the next few years, and even though it will come after some other movies working to achieve that same goal, it will be an incredible new venture going down the path that movies like Black Panther helped to pave in recent times.

Blade is only confirmed as a future Marvel Studios film, and it currently has no release date or an official slotting in Marvel's Phase 4 or 5.

- In This Article: Blade
Release Date
November 07, 2025
Platform
Theaters
Actors
Aaron Pierre
Mia Goth
- About The Author: Richard Nebens
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.