‘Blade’: Aaron Pierre Joins Mahershala Ali In Marvel’s New Pic Centered On The Vampire Hunter

EXCLUSIVE: Krypton alum Aaron Pierre is set to co-star opposite Mahershala in Marvel’s new Blade pic, starring Ali as the iconic vampire hunter.

It is unknown who Pierre will be playing in the film. Marvel had no comment.

Delroy Lindo also is on board with Bassam Tariq set to direct, Stacy Osei-Kuffour penning the script with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige producing.

Plans for a new incarnation of the Blade character, played by Wesley Snipes in a string of movies starting in 1998, were revealed during Marvel’s senses-shattering presentation at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019.

Created as a supporting character by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, Blade first appeared in Tomb of Dracula No. 10 in 1973, becoming a cult favorite. He is a human-vampire hybrid, thanks to his mother being bitten and killed by a blood-sucker during childbirth. The character became a star in the ’90s when New Line adapted the comic with Snipes on board to star, with two sequels following the hit movie.

While it is unknown who Pierre will be playing, the role itself was one of the more highly coveted parts in Hollywood since Tariq was tapped as director last fall. Execs on the project always had their eye on Lindo for his secret role, but insiders add that Feige, Tariq and others took their time finding the right person for this part, meeting dozens of up-and-coming actors for the role, with Pierre becoming the favorite in recent weeks.

Disney already is high on Pierre, tapping him to voice the role of Mufasa in The Lion King prequel directed by Barry Jenkins. On top of that, Pierre already had a busy year with key roles in M. Night Shyamalan’s Old and Jenkins Amazon event series The Underground Railroad. 

He is filming the Garth Davis thriller Foe starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal. Pierre is repped by WME, Anonymous Content, Hamilton Hodell and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.