Mahershala Ali is set to debut in the MCU’s Phase 6 as a new version of Eric Brooks, a.k.a. Blade, the iconic vampire hunter from Marvel Comics.
Mahershala Ali is set to debut as Eric Brooks in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Blade reboot, bringing the iconic vampire hunter into Phase 6 of the MCU. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige revealed that Mahershala Ali would be portraying Blade back in 2019, but development on the Marvel Comics Daywalker’s first MCU feature film has been plagued with departures, delays and rewrites. Nevertheless, Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot appears to finally be making real progress, and is currently scheduled for release on November 7, 2025, as part of the MCU’s Phase 6, though details about the highly-anticipated upcoming project still remain scarce.
Marvel has a strong history with Blade, as he’s not only one of the most popular Marvel Comics characters, but was also the subject of Marvel’s first successful film with 1998’s Blade. Wesley Snipes previously portrayed Eric Brooks’ Blade in the New Line Cinema’s trilogy, but the character’s film rights reverted to Marvel Studios in 2012, allowing a new era of Blade stories to be planned. Marvel Studios had been planning a Blade-focused project for the MCU since 2013, with Mahershala Ali joining the project after he approached Marvel Studios, and he is finally set to debut in Phase 6.
Blade’s Marvel Comics Origin & History
Eric Cross Brooks, created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan, began his Marvel Comics career as a supporting character in 1973’s The Tomb of Dracula #10, but soon went on to star in his own solo stories due to the character’s popularity. While originally depicted as a human with immunity to vampire bites, Brooks was retroactively established to be a dhampir, a human-vampire hybrid. Brooks was born in Soho, London, in 1929, to Tara Vanessa Cross-Brooks, who was killed by the vampire Deacon Frost during labor, which passed on vampiric enzymes to Brooks and culminated in his immunity.
Due to his mother’s demise and his father’s false imprisonment, Brooks was raised in a Soho brothel, and, at nine-years-old, helped Jamal Afari, who was being attacked by three vampires. Afari became a father figure to Brooks, taking him under his wing and training him in how to fight and defeat vampires. Brooks grew up to be an Olympic-level athlete, a skilled fighter, and be adept at handling knives, daggers and swords, which earned him his nickname of Blade. Cocky Blade assumed control of the Bloodshadows from Cyrus Cutter, but after the group’s demise, Blade became a more focused hunter.
Blade’s feud with his long-lasting enemy, Dracula, began when the latter killed Afari, leading to Blade mercy-killing his mentor and father figure. Blade battled Dracula several times over the years, and came into contact with other vampire hunters and their enemies, including Rachel Van Helsing, Hannibal King, Morbius the Living Vampire, Daimon Hellstrom and the powerful sorcerer Doctor Strange. Despite being primarily a lone hunter, Blade has joined several powerful and supernatural teams, such as the Nightstalkers, the Vanguard black-ops team, and the Midnight Sons, and even eventually joined the Avengers, becoming one of Marvel Comics’ most prominent supernatural heroes.
Blade’s Marvel Comics Superpowers & Skills Explained
Due to his mother being killed by Deacon Frost during childbirth, Eric Brooks has vampiric enzymes in his system that make him immune to the bites of typical vampires. Initially, Blade lacked any superhuman abilities, however, but after he was bitten by the atypical, scientifically-created vampire Morbius, Blade received powerful enhancements. These included superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, and heightened senses, as well as a regenerative healing factor, which gives him an elongated lifespan, though not immortality. While exhibiting the strengths of typical vampires, Blade lacks their weaknesses, including an aversion to sunlight, which earned him the title of “Daywalker”.
While exhibiting the strengths of typical vampires, Blade lacks their weaknesses.
Brooks’ training with Jamal Afari saw him become an expert in vampire lore, and become a skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant. He became an excellent swordsman, marksman and fighter, and has in-depth knowledge of anything supernatural in the Marvel Universe. During 2014’s Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet series, Blade and Deadpool find themselves surrounded by monsters, but Blade threatens to turn into a bat and leave Deadpool alone, suggesting he may have some hidden vampiric powers. Unfortunately, Blade does need to drink blood to sustain himself, but resorts to using a nourishing serum in its place to satisfy his vampiric bloodlust.
Marvel Studios’ Blade Will Release In The MCU Phase 6 Despite Behind-The-Scenes Challenges
Since being announced at SDCC 2019, Marvel Studios’ Blade has been through a tumultuous production period. In 2021, Stacy Osei-Kuffour and Bassam Tariq were hired as writer and director, respectively, and production was expected to take place between August and December 2022. In July 2022, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige confirmed a release date of November 3, 2023, for Blade, but this was put in jeopardy after Tariq departed the project. This halted production, and saw the film’s release date pushed back to September 6, 2024. Top Boy and White Boy Rick director Yann Demange joined Blade in November 2022.
Along with Blade’s directors, the movie’s writing team has changed several times too. Beau DeMayo replaced Osei-Kuffour, who was in turn replaced by Michael Starrbury, who was later joined by Nic Pizzolatto in April 2023. 2023’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes saw Blade delayed again to February 14, 2025, and following the strikes, Michael Green was brought on board to rewrite the script from scratch. Despite its troubles, however, Mahershala Ali has expressed his encouraging optimism, particularly after Yann Demange confirmed Blade’s R-rating, so the project finally seems to be making progress ahead of its new November 7, 2025, release date.
How Could Blade Fit Into The MCU’s Multiverse Saga?
Blade is currently set to release as the second project in the MCU’s Phase 6, set deep within the Multiverse Saga, which may, at first glance, appear to be a strange place for Mahershala Ali’s debut. However, Marvel Studios has recently been developing several different storylines, including the cosmic side of the MCU, the franchise’s street-level stories, and the concept of the multiverse and incursions. As well as these, several supernatural and mystical heroes and antiheroes have recently been introduced, which means Ali’s Blade will fit in with the likes of Moon Knight, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and Elsa Bloodstone.
Mahershala Ali has also already made a voice cameo in another Multiverse Saga project, as he warned Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman about wielding the Ebony Blade at the end of Phase 4’s Eternals. It’s currently unclear whether Harrington will reprise his role in Blade, but there are clear connections already being established, despite them perhaps not reinforcing the overarching multiverse storyline. Rising speculation suggests that Mahershala Ali’s Blade will be involved in the MCU’s Midnight Sons team, which could be teased in Phase 6’s Blade ahead of their formation in an Avengers project or even in the MCU’s next Saga.
