A Blade casting call hints at the film’s situation within the MCU chronology. Expected in November of 2023, Blade is part of Disney’s upcoming roadmap for Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The lead role of Blade will be played by Mahershala Ali. This role was previously played by Wesley Snipes in the 1998 animated film of the same name, and recurred with Snipes in the lead in Blade II and Blade: Trinity. Other known cast members include Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre. 2023’s Blade is directed by Bassam Tariq, who has also directed 2020’s Mogul Mowgli along with a number of documentary films.
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Those who have read the comics or seen the Snipes version of Blade know the basics. Blade is a half-mortal, half-vampire being who seeks to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. Any further specifics on the plot of the Blade reboot, however, are still unknown. This leaves viewers with a myriad of questions surrounding the upcoming version of Blade, including if it will be an origin story, what tone it will take on, and where it fits in the ever-expanding MCU timeline. Given the lack of any plot details, Blade’s placement within the MCU chronology has also yet to be revealed.
A recent casting call for Blade gives the first glimpse at what that timeline could be. The casting call was sent out via Airtable for a shoot including extras that will take place from November 14 to November 22. The call included a long list of specifications, many of them standard. The point of the most interest, however, lay in the hair requirements of the casting call. Underneath the section heading, the caption reads “This film takes place in a past time period.” It goes on to specify that men would have to get haircuts to match the time period and women should ideally have the ability to style their hair, with some wigs being available. Check out the full excerpt from the casting call below:
This film takes place in a past time period
LADIES: your hair will need to be styled for that time period. The hair department is asking that women do not have braids, extensions, or custom color hair colors. They will have some wigs, but we cannot rely on a majority of the people we hire to need be wigged.
MEN: will need to have a haircut for that period. IF you are bald and not naturally bald, please let us know if you will grow your hair out. This is mainly directed at younger men who shave their heads, etc… due to the period and trends of that era, men did not shave bald like modern times, etc…
What Time Period the MCU's Blade Reboot Could Be Set In
While this may still be nondescript, this casting call is the first real news out of Blade that gives any sense of time period. While many recent Marvel films are set in or close to the modern day, the MCU and Marvel certainly are not averse to depicting past time periods. The X-Men films (which were previously not part of the MCU but whose plots may be incorporated now that mutants are MCU canon) are particularly subject to that, with films like X-Men: First Class seeing characters set in the times of the Cuban missile crisis.
With this in mind, that of course still leaves the question of what past time period Blade is set in. If the hairstyles are significantly different than modern day, that indicates that the time period is likely more than 30 years back. The earliest Blade could be set in but warrant this casting call is likely around the '80s. Perms and slicked-back hair could occupy the heads of mortals and vampires within the Blade universe. Blade could also go further back and take on Mad Men-like hairstyles if it were set around the 1950s or 1960s. Based on recent MCU works, it seems unlikely that Blade would go back before 1900 and become a period-piece-turned-action film, but with such little information available on the plot, anything still remains possible.