Marvel Studios has found its director for its upcoming Blade movie, tapping Bassam Tariq to helm the picture, according to a recent report from Deadline.
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Tariq, perhaps best known for his work on the film Mogul Mowgli, is officially in talks to direct the upcoming adaptation of the popular Marvel comic book. Stacy Osei-Kuffour is on board to write the script for the film starring the vampire hunter, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige attached as producer, as per usual.
The search for a director for the highly anticipated film has been underway for months, with the search seeming to be an exhaustive one. According to the report, however, Tariq seems to be the final choice, and while a deal is not done just yet, it does seem like Marvel has zeroed in on Tariq to take charge of the film.
The Blade movie was first announced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, with Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali making a surprise appearance at the panel. Ali, who previously starred in Netflix’s Luke Cage, confirmed that he was the one who first approached the studio about wanting to take on the titular heroic vampire. The daywalker was first famously portrayed by Wesley Snipes, who has already voiced out his support to Ali following the announcement.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Stacy Osei-Kuffour has been tapped to pen the screenplay after six months of meeting with various writers, making her the first Black female writer to pen a Marvel movie. It’s still unclear which phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will the upcoming film be debuting in because it currently has no release date attached to it yet.
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The Blade Trilogy from New Line Cinema helped shepherd comic books and superheroes to the big screen. Combined, the three films brought in over $400 million at the global box office. Blade was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan as a supporting character in the comic book “The Tomb of Dracula” #10 in July 1973.
