REPORT: Bassam Tariq to Direct Blade?

by Rebecca Kaplan · July 20, 2021

In a Tweet sent on Monday, July 19th, 2021, the official Fandango Twitter account reported that Bassam Tariq is in talks to direct the upcoming Blade Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot, starring Mahershala Ali as the eponymous Daywalker!

MCU Update: Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) is in talks to direct Mahershala Ali in the Blade reboot. pic.twitter.com/XWmdEtVN0k

— Fandango (@Fandango) July 19, 2021

Tariq’s History

Tariq was born in Pakistan and is a TED fellow. He has previously directed narrative movies like Mogul Mowgli, and his resume also includes documentaries, including Ghosts of Sugar Land, a 2019 documentary about the emotional losses suffered by Muslim American men because of political alienation from the state that you can stream right now on Netflix.

Ghosts of Sugarland. Photo: Netflix

Tariq’s work has already received plenty of critical attention, and Ghosts of Sugar Land won the Sundance Jury Prize and was nominated for an Oscar.

You can see more of his work at his website.

Blade’s History

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Blade reboot has been a long time coming. Previously, Wesley Snipes played the role of Blade, appearing in a trilogy of movies beginning in 1998 (and the third movie in that trilogy, 2004’s Blade Trinity, even included a supporting role played by Ryan Reynolds… but he wasn’t Deadpool yet).

Trimmed from the Time-Stream: Reynolds in Blade: Trinity. Photo: New Line Cinema/Marvel

Snipes even went on to sort-of reprise the role of the Daywalker in an episode of What We Do in the Shadows, an episode in which Dave Bautista also appeared to show off his comedic chops as a vampire wrongfully accused of turning an infant.

What We Do in the Shadows. Photo: FX

However, when the MCU reboot arrives, Ali will be the one who is playing the Daywalker.

This is not Ali’s first appearance in a Marvel property, however. He previously played the role of Cottonmouth in the first season of Luke Cage. While Ali excelled in the role, delivering a very memorable performance in just a few episodes, the character was unceremoniously killed off (even before the season finale) so we don’t have to worry about his return in the Luke Cage/Jessica Jones sequel we’re all clamoring for…

Ali as Cottonmouth in Netflix’s Luke Cage. Photo: Netflix

Fortunately, Ali will get the chance to rise again thanks to a well-deserved starring role in Blade!

Good for the Blood

What do you think of the latest rumor about Blade, Marvel Blog True Believers? Are you excited to see the Daywalker on the big screen once again? Let us know what you’re thinking in the comment section!