Marvel’s “Blade” Recruits “True Detective” Creator Nic Pizzolatto to Sharpen Story

Marvel’s upcoming Blade is sharpening its knives as it nears a late May production start.

True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto is re-teaming with Mahershala Ali, who starred in season three of Pizzolatto acclaimed HBO crime noir series, to help get Blade into tip-top narrative shape.

The film is one of Marvel’s most marquee upcoming installments, bringing the Oscar-winner Ali into the fold in a reboot for a beloved character (the Wesley Snipes-led Blade trilogy was a New Line production and came out before the MCU) and Marvel’s first proper turn towards the horror genre. Lovecraft Country helmer Yann Demange is steering the ship with Ali playing the titular vampire hunter (and half-vampire himself) in a story that’s still being kept in Dracula’s coffin, so it’s unclear what kind of sharpening Pizzolatto will be doing. Ali is joined by Deloy Lindo, Aaron Pierce, and the newest addition, the current reigning queen of horror, Mia Goth.

The character of Blade was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan in 1973’s “The Tomb of Dracula No 10.” His mother was killed by a vampire as she gave birth to him, rendering Blade a half-mortal, half-immortal daywalker capable of operating during the day, unlike his vampire foes.

Pizzolatto will be working off a script by Michael Starrbury, an Emmy nominee for his work on Ava DuVernay’s Netflix drama When They See Us, The Hollywood Reporter scoops. Pizzolatto will bring his years’ worth of writing chops to bear on his first MCU story. True Detective is an intricately plotted, often deeply unsettling detective show that has long been as interested in character development as it was in the grisly central crime and nuances of the detective work. His involvement in Blade will only bolster the film’s commitment to telling a different, darker kind of Marvel story.

For more on Blade, check out these stories:

Marvel’s “Blade” Adds Rising Star Mia Goth

Marvel’s “Blade” Names “Lovecraft Country” Director Yann Demange as New Helmer

“Blade” Casts Aaron Pierre in Mysterious Role Alongside Lead Mahershala Ali

Featured image: INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: Mahershala Ali attends WE Day California at The Forum on April 25, 2019 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for WE Day)