Blade: Watchmen writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour staked to pen Mahershala Ali-starring MCU film

There’s been little news since 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con about the MCU’s Blade movie, when we learned it would star Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali and that we would likely have to wait awhile to see it, as it's not part of Marvel’s Phase 4 rollout.

As of today, however, we have a bit more information about the Marvel vampire hunter project: according to The Hollywood Reporter, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, whose previous writing credits include HBO’s Watchmen, has been drafted to write the script.

According to THR, Marvel and Mahershala Ali spent the last six months undergoing a “meticulous search” for Blade’s writer. The selection process also focused on Black writers, and Osei-Kuffour will be the first Black woman to pen a Marvel movie.

Osei-Kuffour started out her career as a playwright in New York before moving to Los Angeles to build her screenwriting career. She wrote on shows like Pen15, Hunters and Run, and is also co-writing the Hulu adaption of the award-winning African futurism novella, Binti, with author Nnedi Okorafor.

What Osei-Kuffour is best known for in Hollywood, however, is her work on HBO’s comic adaptation Watchmen, which dominated the 2020 Emmys with 26 nominations and took home the Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series (and a whole bunch of others). Osei-Kuffour’s work on the show no doubt made her stand out to Marvel; not only has she worked on a critically-acclaimed, awarding-winning series, but she also has the experience of adapting a beloved comic book property.

Even with Osei-Kuffour on board, Blade still has a long way to go before it starts production, much less ends up on the big screen. According to THR, Marvel’s next step is to find a director to work with Osei-Kuffour on the project. No news, however, on who may be on the shortlist or when that decision will be made public.