Blade's reported director Bassam Tariq has confirmed that he is joining the MCU to helm Marvel's upcoming Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali.
It was previously reported that Marvel had tapped Tariq, who is best known for directing 2020's Mogul Mowgli, to helm the vampire superhero film, though it was also said that no deal had been finalized. Marvel still hasn't confirmed the news but Tariq himself recently discussed his move into the MCU during an episode of The Playlist Podcast.
"I didn't think [Blade] was going to happen, just to be very honest," Tariq said. "I'm honored and it's a privilege, but I'm here in service of Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who is the incredible writer that is writing the film… She's just a phenomenal presence and a juggernaut in her own right. And for Mahershala [Ali]. For me, it's really just working in their service.
"[Marvel] takes big swings, you know?" Tariq added, sharing his praise for the team assigned to the project, particularly Stacy Osei-Kuffour who is penning the script for Marvel's upcoming Blade movie. The new film will act as a reboot to the original 1998 film starring Wesley Snipes, which debuted a decade prior to Marvel's launch of the MCU with Iron Man.
"Character is very important for me. I don't think of genre, I think of character," Tariq said of the reboot. "It's not so boxed in as people imagine it to be [working with Marvel]. It's quite exciting. And I think the reality is there is no 'Blade' canon, you know? If you ever read the comics, they're always changing… Unfortunately, the [comic series] never lasted that long."
The Blade comics were created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciler Gene Colan and first appeared in The Tomb of Dracula #10 in 1973 — if you need a refresher, check out our history of the vampire-hunting Daywalker, covering everything from Blade's comic book origins to the badass bloodsucker's big-screen debut, and how the new Blade might fit into the MCU.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.