Could another Marvel Cinematic Universe star be making their way to the land of dinos in Jurassic World 4? That certainly seems to be the case right now as Blade’s own Mahershala Ali is in talks with Universal and the folks behind the fourth installment in the franchise to add his name to the ever-growing call sheet. Should he put pen to paper, Ali would join fellow MCU alum Scarlett Johansson in the film, with the two being preceded by Guardians of the Galaxy actor Chris Pratt, who led in the last three films opposite Bryce Dallas Howard.
The Cast
So far, the names already on board for Jurassic World 4 include the aforementioned Johansson, Rupert Friend (Anatomy of a Scandal), Jonathan Bailey (Wicked), and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer).
As for their marvelous connection, Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali both have ties to the MCU with the former appearing as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in a string of movies from the superhero world over the last more than a decade, including her own standalone feature.
Mahershala Ali is set to pick up the baton set down by Wesley Snipes back in the ‘90s and appear as Blade in the eponymous 2025 feature. Not to mention he made his MCU debut back in 2016 as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes in the first season of Luke Cage.
Lots Of Marvel In The Jurassic World
Meanwhile, the last three films in the dinosaur-themed franchise featured a leading performance from Chris Pratt. MCU fans will of course remember Pratt from his years playing Star-Lord in both the Guardians of the Galaxy film series as well as a handful of Avengers movies.
With fantasy and adventure universes crossing into one another, Jurassic World 4 is simply oozing with Marvel talent thanks to both Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali.
Gareth Edwards
There’s a lot of mystery surrounding our upcoming romp with the dinosaurs in Jurassic World 4 (including Mahershala Ali’s involvement) but we do know that the movie will be under the watchful eye of Gareth Edwards.
Audiences can see Edwards’ handiwork in such titles as The Creator and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Production on the film is expected to kick off very soon which means more casting additions are likely to come our way in no time.
Ali’s Other Work
Prior to his rumored casting in Jurassic World 4, Mahershala Ali most recently appeared in the Netflix apocalyptic sci-fi flick, Leave the World Behind. The feature was one of the streamer’s hottest titles of the year and also saw performances from Ethan Hawke, Julia Roberts, Myha’la Herrold, and Kevin Bacon.
Last year, Ali also lent his voice to the uber-successful Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as Uncle Aaron, a role which he reprised after working on 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
2025 Is Mahershala Ali’s Year
With his all but certain casting in Jurassic World 4, 2025 is shaping up to be quite the year of blockbusters for Mahershala Ali as that’s when Marvel’s Blade is expected to hit cinemas.
Then again, there’s always a chance that the vampire hunter’s standalone flick will be delayed yet again as its original release window was back in 2023.
Still, we remain hopeful that 2025 will be the year of Mahershala Ali with both Jurassic World 4 and Blade stomping and slashing their way into theaters around the world.
