Kevin Feige dropped a whole heaping helping of Marvel Cinematic Universe plans last summer, and one of the bigger revelations was that a Blade reboot is happening, and the reinvigorated franchise will star Mahershala Ali. Former vampire hunter Wesley Snipes was quick to offer his congrats on the passing of the sword, but there was also a pretty wild tie-in that few people noted at the time. Ali had recently completed his True Detective third-season run alongside Stephen Dorff, who played Blade’s enemy, Deacon Frost, from the first movie in 1998.
Frost did not survive his rivalry with the Snipes’ character, and since we don’t know much about the reboot’s plans, there’s no word on whether the character will be an antagonistic thing again. What we do know, though, thanks to Dorff speaking with Entertainment Tonight, is that he’s wide open to “reinvent” his role if Marvel Studios somehow deems this to be possible. He’s game to consider the reboot, of course, but he’d really like to do a Deacon-centered movie:
“I definitely would love to reinvent that character because that character’s someone who really stands [the test of time]. I still talk about [him] 20-something years later. I’m still signing Deacon Frost pictures out front today, so we’ll see where it goes … I’m not the biggest fan of the superhero genre myself, but I did really love what my friend, Joaquin [Phoenix], did in Joker, and I think he’s probably going to win the Oscar for that.”
Indeed, it might be impossible (absent some Scorsese-level CGI de-aging) for Dorff to star alongside Ali in a Blade reboot film. Conceivably, some time-travel shenanigans could land in the mix to resurrect Frost and make it happen, but there’s the simple fact that Frost, as a vampire, shouldn’t visibly age. Yes, some vampire lore features aging bloodsuckers, but only if one is born a vampire, and Frost was not written that way in the comics, so Dorff playing this vampire 20 years later probably isn’t in the cards.
Whatever the case, Dorff referenced some old news from 2008 that previously had him lined up for a Frost solo movie, which didn’t happen when New Line Cinema’s rights fully reverted to Marvel Studios, which wasn’t interested in a dark vampire movie at the time. Could it happen within the next few years, though? No one could possibly shine light upon that other than Kevin Feige.
Dorff will be alright. He’s currently promoting his starring role in FOX’s The Deputy, and he’s thrilled for Mahershala. “I’m sure he’ll do it justice,” he raved. “To have such a great actor in the part of Blade for this new generation, it’ll be great.”
(Via ET Online)
