In the animated series "Marvel Zombies," Mahershala Ali's appearance was used to create the image of Blade, but the voice belonged to Todd Williams.
In the animated mini-series "Marvel Zombies," which premiered on Disney+ in late September, the character of Blade received an on-screen embodiment that visually corresponds to the film version performed by Mahershala Ali. However, the voice of the hero in the series belongs to another actor — Todd Williams. This decision raised questions among viewers, and the studio's producers decided to clarify the situation.
In an interview with POC Culture, Brad Winderbaum, head of Marvel Television and Animation, explained that Ali's participation was impossible for organizational reasons.
"It was purely a timing issue," Winderbaum noted. "We would have loved to have him voice the character, but the schedules just didn't align," added Brian Andrews, one of the creators of the series.
Despite the replacement, Marvel confirmed that Mahershala Ali will still remain the performer of the role of Blade in future projects of the cinematic universe. A full-length film about the character, first announced in 2019, is still in development, but specific release dates have not yet been announced.
