The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Marvel Studios has tapped Primetime Emmy-nominee Stacy Osei-Kuffour to pen the screenplay for their upcoming Blade movie, which will star 2x Academy Award-winner Mahershala Ali (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Alita: Battle Angel) in the title role.
Her past credits include serving as writer and story editor on HBO's Watchmen, Amazon Prime Video's Hunters, HBO's Run, and Hulu's PEN15 for which she received her first Emmy nomination in 2019.
Further details are currently unavailable, but Osei-Kuffour was hired after an extensive six-month search by the studio that had Ali directly involved. THR notes that only Black writers were seriously considered as Marvel Studios continues its efforts to focus on expanding on diversity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by putting a priority on representation behind and in front of the camera.
Osei-Kuffour now becomes the first Black female writer to pen an MCU movie.
With a writer onboard, Marvel Studios has now begun its extensive search for a director, which makes a possible 2022 production start date a very real possibility.
While Blade is expected to be part of Phase 4, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has remained mum on a release date, but it seems increasingly likely the film will debut in 2023, barring any further unforeseen pandemic-related changes to the current MCU theatrical release schedule.