“Watchmen” writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour will write the latest resurrection of the Marvel vampire franchise.
Marvel Studios’ next release, “Blade, the Vampire Slayer”, found a writer on Stacy Osei-Kuffour. This is largely thanks to star Mahershala Ali who, according to The Hollywood Reporter, was directly involved in bringing Osei-Kuffour on board. 2019 Prime Time Emmy Nominee for Best Screenplay for Comedy Series for “PEN15”, the playwright who became a TV screenwriter also worked as a story editor on HBO’s acclaimed “Watchmen” and short-lived comedy series ” Run “, along with work on Amazon’s” Hunters “program.
According to THR, “The studio has spent the past six months meeting with writers in what has been described as a meticulous search, with Ali directly involved. Only black writers were seriously considered, reflecting Marvel’s focus on diversity and making representation a key factor – especially when dealing with non-white characters. “
Ali, a two-time Oscar winner for “Moonlight” and “Green Book”, will star in the role of the Marvel hero previously played by Wesley Snipes in the Marvel Comics franchise in films released in 1998, 2002 and 2004. White writer David Goyer, a frequent scribe from Marvel and DC, wrote the original films released by New Line. The initial plans for “Blade, the Vampire Slayer” were revealed at the 2019 Comic-Con in San Diego.
This makes Osei-Kuffour Marvel the first black writer of a feature film. Nia DaCosta, scheduled for the next “Captain Marvel 2”, will be the studio’s first black director. Osei-Kuffour also received the Writers Guild of America award for his work on “Watchmen”, also adapted from a comic book.
The human-vampire hybrid Blade first appeared as a supporting character in the comic book “Tomb of Dracula” in 1973, before becoming a cult favorite. The details of the plot and a director for the next film remain unknown, but the intention is to relaunch the character back into the constantly evolving Marvel cinematic universe. This will not mark Mahershala Ali’s first dive into the Marvel world, as he previously starred “Marvel’s Luke Cage” on Netflix as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, although this series was canceled in 2018 after two seasons. Ali also lent his voice to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” the Oscar-winning animation favorite.
Ali was most recently seen in the Hulu comedy series “Ramy”, as well as in the third season of HBO’s “True Detective”.
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