President of Marvel studios Kevin Feige (C) welcomes US actor Mahershala Ali on stage during the Marvel panel in Hall H of the Convention Center during Comic Con in San Diego, California on July 20, 2019. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP) (Photo credit should read CHRIS DELMAS/AFP/Getty Images)

With Mahershala Ali officially coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Blade, here are our five choices for who should direct the film.

The X-Men and the Fantastic Four coming to the MCU is pretty fantastic news (pun intended), but it didn’t come as much of a surprise. In fact, it was more exciting than anything else.

What did come as a surprise is the Blade reveal, specifically two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali taking the mantle from Wesley Snipes. This was incredible news, considering what a great performer he is and how underrated Blade is as a superhero/antihero.

Now, the real question is, how will Marvel Studios tackle this character, and who will it put in charge to bring this character to life? Considering it’s in the MCU now, other than some moments in the films, most of the movies in this universe are mostly light-hearted and don’t necessarily include dark horror themes.

However, with Blade, that might have to change because of the character’s origins, way of being, and the enemies he faces. We feel Marvel is ready to take that step in order to deliver the best movie possible.

To do that, the director who’s responsible should, in our opinion, have some experience in the horror and thriller genre. At the same time, they also need to be able to deliver some killer sequences with great fight choreography. There can also be some first-time directors who have mostly done dramas that we feel can also bring something to the table because of the story they’ll tell.

Some honorable mentions that come to mind include Ryan Coogler, Steven Kostanski, and David Robert Mitchell. We’ve seen the success Coogler has had in his short career so far, and his work on Black Panther will maybe entice him to work on another superhero film.

As for Kostanski (Manborg, The Void) and Mitchell (It Follows), they’ve both have made indie films that have been hits with the audiences, and those films have been in genres we think would fit Blade pretty well.

And now, on to the rest of the list.

5. Barry Jenkins

In his relatively short career, Jenkins has proved to be an incredible storyteller. In fact, he’s one of the best working directors today. His work on Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk proves that. Mahershala Ali was also in Moonlight, which was one of the films that helped him win an Academy Award. We’re sure he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to work with Jenkins again. It may be new territory for Jenkins, but at least we know the story would be great and their chemistry is most definitely there.

4. Alex Garland

Garland is one of the most unique filmmakers working today. His directing credits include Ex Machina and Annihilation, which are both very weird-but-amazing films. They both include intense and skin-chilling scenes that make you question what’s exactly going on. We feel his unorthodox creativity would fit Blade perfectly. Plus, if you didn’t know, according to Karl Urban, he’s mostly responsible for directing the highly under-appreciated Dredd, even though he’s credited as a writer and producer for it. Being that it’s another comic book property, it’s another thing to consider when discussing his qualifications and relevance.

3. Jordan Peele

Who would’ve thought that the guy from Key & Peele, Jordan Peele, would be such a gifted horror story-teller? Well, he has proven that he’s not just a funny guy, but he can also tell stories that are relevant to today’s society while also forcing you to think critically about his films long after seeing them. If Get Out and Us are any indication, he would bring a lot to something like Blade with his directing style (camera angles, themes, set pieces, and action parts). With his comedic background, we feel it would fit the MCU pretty well also with some witty dialogue.

2. The Soska Sisters

Jen and Sylvia Soska are probably unknown to most people, but that’s a shame since they shouldn’t be. Specifically for something like Blade, we feel they would fit extremely well since it goes perfectly with their directing style. If you look at their past work, specifically Rabid, the makeup and costume designs of the characters in those films show why they’d be able to translate that same look into Blade. Most of their other work is usually low-budget and straight to DVD, such as See No Evil 2, so it’s time they get a chance at the big show.

1. Fede Alvarez

We feel the most qualified person on this list is Fede Alvarez. In all honesty, he’s one of the most gifted horror-thriller directors working today. His credits include Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe, and The Girl in the Spider’s Web. The first two fall into the horror-thriller category with intense, edge-of-your-seat moments. But, he also showed he can deliver on action and story/character-focused films with his most recent effort. Although he may be busy with other future projects, he would be a great fit for Blade.

Blade won’t be coming out for a while, so Marvel Studios has some time to plan who’ll be the director. We’re hoping they take our picks into consideration.