If the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Blade reboot comes to theaters before the end of 2023 as we’re all expecting, then Mahershala Ali will be far and away the oldest actor to ever take top billing in their first standalone movie.
The actor will turn 49 years old in February 2023, and while that’s hardly a criticism, when you start closing in on 50 it gets a lot harder to acquire the physique necessary to play a superhero, something that Hugh Jackman will attest to. Of course, the two-time Academy Award winner is more than capable of pounding the weights, and he confirmed in an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that he’s already in the process of bulking up.
For whatever reason, any self-respecting MCU star appears to be contractually obligated for at least one shirtless scene, so it wasn’t a shock to hear Ali admit to the host that he’s “gotta get swole and jacked”. Age is but a number anyway, as evidenced by several upcoming projects that feature leads well into their 50s including Hawkeye, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Armor Wars.
Ali went to college on a basketball scholarship before falling in love with acting, and he’s kept himself in tip-top physical condition ever since, so it’s not as if he’s facing the same sort of rigors for Blade as someone like Chris Pratt, who dropped 60 pounds and then packed on the muscle ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy.