Mahershala Ali helped Marvel launch the first black writer for Blade

Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Blade, the Vampire Slayer” has found a writer in Stacy Osei-Kuffour. This is in large part thanks to star Mahershala Ali who, according to The Hollywood Reporter, was directly involved in bringing Osei-Kuffour on board. Nominated for the 2019 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for “PEN15,” the playwright-turned-television writer has also worked as a story writer on HBO’s acclaimed “Watchmen,” and its comedy series. short duration “Run”. on Amazon’s “Hunters”.

According to THR, “The studio has spent the past six months meeting writers in what has been described as meticulous research, with Ali directly involved. Only black writers were given serious consideration, which reflects Marvel’s emphasis on diversity and makes representation a key factor – especially when it comes to non-white characters.

Ali, a two-time Oscar winner for “Moonlight” and “Green Book,” is committed to playing the role of the Marvel hero previously played by Wesley Snipes in the Marvel Comics franchise in films released in 1998, 2002 and 2004. Writer white David Goyer, a frequent Marvel and DC scribe, wrote the original films released by New Line. The initial plans for “Blade, the Vampire Slayer” were revealed at Comic-Con 2019 in San Diego.

This makes Osei-Kuffour Marvel the first black writer on a feature film. Nia DaCosta, ready for the next “Captain Marvel 2”, will mark the studio’s first black director. Osei-Kuffour also has a Writers Guild of America Award for his work on “Watchmen,” also adapted from a comic book.

Blade human-vampire hybrid first appeared as a supporting character in the “Tomb of Dracula” comic book in 1973 before becoming a cult favorite. Plot details and a director for the upcoming film remain unknown, but there are plans to relaunch the character in the ever-evolving Marvel Cinematic Universe. This won’t mark Mahershala Ali’s first dive into the Marvel world, as he previously starred in “Marvel’s Luke Cage” on Netflix as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, although that series was canceled in 2018 after two seasons. Ali also lent his voice to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, the Oscar-winning animated favorite.

Ali was recently seen in Hulu’s comedy series “Ramy”, as well as in the third season of HBO’s “True Detective”.

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