Aside from the announcement of Mogul Mowgli director Bassam Tariq, recent news has been slim on the film for one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's newest heroes, Blade. The director, who became associated with the project in July, has given some hints as to the direction of the film, which won't be bogged down by Marvel Comics lore. In an interview with Gizmodo, Tariq had the following to say:
"What’s so great is it’s not as boxed in as I think people imagine it to be, which I thought it was. But it’s quite exciting, and I think the reality is there is no Blade canon. In some comics, his name is Fred H. Blade, you know, instead of Eric Brooks. Unfortunately, the runs never lasted that long, and there have been some interesting and exciting waves. But I can say [the new movie is] character first."
These comments are incredibly encouraging, especially considering that the origin of Blade is far less widely known to general audiences. While the character did have a trilogy of films with Wesley Snipes in the lead role, that film was ahead of the current comic book movie boom, though it certainly had a hand in paving the way. Blade is also far from the most prominent comics characters - a fan who sees only one or two comic book films a year (or even none at all) would still be able to tell you the origin of Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man. General audiences were most likely introduced to the origins of characters like Star-Lord and Iron Man through their respective films.
Looking a bit closer at Tariq's comments, various iterations of one character are a fairly basic concept in comic books. Marvel is also playing with this idea greatly in Phase 4, with Loki leading the charge by introducing Variants. It's not known currently what iteration of Blade star Mahershala Ali will be playing in the upcoming film. The project was first announced at San Diego Comic Con in 2019, though progress has been slow-going. Writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen) was announced to be writing the screenplay back in February.
Eric Brooks/Blade first appeard in comics in July 1973. His widely known origin starts at his birth, where the doctor who handled his mother's pregnancy, Deacon Frost, was in actuality a vampire. Frost's vampire status was passed onto Brooks upon his murdering of Brooks' mother, making Blade part-vampire and immune to vampire bites. He's been a member of various teams in the comics, from the Nightstalkers to Quincy Harker's Vampire Hunters, the latter of which worked to find his mother's killer, Frost.
It will be exciting to see what Tariq adapts from the various comics storylines to bring to his film. Marvel has generally created films that work for their universe first and foremost, with each project sprinkled with easter eggs for the eagle-eyed comics fans. And Blade, which is expected to start filming in July of 2022, will likely carry on this trend.