Warning - This article contains spoilers for Eternals.
Through three theatrical films and four Disney+ series, Marvel's Phase 4 has already introduced a number of new characters into the MCU, from WandaVision's Agatha Harkness to Loki's Sylvie and Mobius to the cast of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and beyond.
Although, perhaps no MCU film has ever introduced as many new faces as Marvel's Eternals, which featured ten cosmic characters plus Dane Whitman as the studio's future Black Knight.
Still, the cast of Eternals weren't the only new characters to make their debut in Marvel's latest film. After having been announced to play the MCU's Blade back in 2019, Mahershala Ali officially entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe via voice-over in one of Eternals' post-credits scenes.
Blade's Mahershala Ali Talks MCU Debut
In an interview with Empire, Mahershala Ali talked about getting to record his voice for one of the MCU's newest characters, saying, “It was really cool, getting to do that."
However, stepping into a role with a voice-over first was a unique experience, one Ali admitted "brought up some very real anxieties:"
"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.”
Still, the actor sounded excited about stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is looking forward to what comes next as he continued:
“That Marvel world is obviously the biggest in film, and 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,” he says. “I’m excited to get going and do more.”
In regard to whether he's suited up in the character's signature jacket and shades, Ali only teased, “We're getting there. We're getting close.”
Marvel's Future Plans for Blade
What fans know about Marvel's vampire hunter so far is that his solo film will be directed by Bassam Bariq, filming begins in summer 2022, and he's somehow connected to Dane Whitman's Black Knight.
Just when this film is set to release - and whether or not Blade's Eric Brooks will appear in another film or Disney+ series like Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight - is unknown.
The wild card in all of this is that Sony is set to release its own vampire flick, Morbius, in January 2022. While Sony and Marvel have only shared Spider-Man up to this point, their respective universes had already collided in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and what the two have planned for the future is one of the biggest questions of all.
Since Blade is now officially in the MCU, it's possible that Marvel fans will hear more about the character and what the studio has planned for him during Disney+ Day on November 12, 2021.
Eternals is now playing in theaters worldwide.
