Blade has finally made his MCU debut, albeit in an animated form, in Marvel Zombies. The Disney+ series revolves around a group of survivors who have to save themselves from superhero zombies.
A number of veteran Marvel stars have voiced their characters in the show, including Florence Pugh as Yelena, Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda, and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man.
Blade in the show has been modeled around Mahershala Ali, who was confirmed to play the superhero in a live-action movie in 2019 that still has not come out. However, the character does not sound like Ali, which makes the audience wonder who voices Blade in Marvel Zombies. The character is voiced by actor Todd Williams.
Todd Williams plays Blade in Marvel Zombies
Todd Williams voices Blade in Marvel Zombies, marking the character's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after a long wait. A live-action Blade film was announced by the studio in 2019, with Mahershala Ali confirmed to appear as the lead. However, the movie still has not begun production after all these years, and Ali has been replaced by Williams for the role, at least in the animated universe.
Also, Marvel Zombies features a new version of Blade, which is a combination of Eric Brook and Moon Knight, called Blade Knight. He has been described as a daywalker who hunts down vampires and is an avatar of Khonshu, the god who empowers Moon Knight.
Talking about why the writers chose to introduce Blade Knight instead of the authentic version of the character in Marvel Zombies, series co-creator Bryan Andrews revealed that the decision was made due to the announcement of the live-action Blade film. He said in an interview with Variety:
“If we did Blade Knight, that completely separates it from whatever they’re doing in the movie and makes it our own and it’s rad. Blade, the Fist of Khonshu, was early on and so natural. It was perfect to have him pair up with our young protagonist that has no idea what the heck they’re doing. It really created this great way for to work him in.”
What else has Todd Williams worked on?
Todd Williams is not new to the superhero genre. He has already voiced Green Lantern in the HBO Max animated series Batwheels and Titan in the Prime Video adult animated superhero series Invincible. He has also lent his voice to the characters of Mongul and Rick Mason in the video games Superman Returns: The Video Game and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, respectively.
In the live-action field, Williams is known for playing Police Officer Isaac Joiner in the Fox crime drama The Chicago Code. He also played Clark Marcellin, one of the leads, in the ESPN series Tilt. Apart from that, he has made recurring appearances in Third Watch, The Vampire Diaries, Switched at Birth, All Rise, and Panic.
On the big screen, he has been seen in movies like San Andreas, Silver Skies, and If Not Now, When? Williams has been a part of the industry since 2001 and continues to impress the audience with both his physical and voice acting roles.
All episodes of Marvel Zombies are streaming on Disney+.