Blade, the Marvel
Comics vampire slayer featured in trilogy of big-screen movies, is coming to
the small screen and will star rapper/Onyx group member Kirk "Sticky Fingaz"
Jones.
Spike TV has green-lighted
a television series based on the super hero that will serve as the network’s
first original scripted series.
"Blade"
will follow the adventures of an immortal half-man half-vampire who uses his
superhuman powers and skills to battle a shadowy underworld of vampires who
want to destroy the human race.
Jones will star
as Blade with a supporting cast that includes Jill Wagner ("Monk"),
Neil Jackson ("Stargate SG-1"), Nelson Lee ("Traffic," the
TV mini-series) and Jessica Gower ("Blurred").
Eleven one-hour
episodes of the show have been ordered by Spike TV, in addition to a two-hour
pilot episode.
The series, which
will be produced by New Line Television, will begin production in Vancouver
this spring.
"We’re extremely
pleased with the pilot for ‘Blade,’ which delivers a thrilling action-adventure
for its built-in fan base as well as a character-driven drama filled with heart-pounding
tension and suspense," said Pancho Mansfield, executive vice president,
original programming at Spike TV. "The series will be the first of our
scripted fare as we embark on creating a greater mix of original programming
for our viewers."
Although the weekly
series will maintain continuity from the successful trilogy, a new storyline
and new characters will be introduced. Acclaimed screenwriter and executive
producer David S. Goyer ("Blade" trilogy and "Batman Begins")
and popular comic book writer Geoff Johns who worked on the "Blade"
tele-movie, will also produce the series.
The tele-movie
is directed by Peter O’Fallon ("Suicide Kings," "American Gothic").
Best known as
"Sticky Fingaz," a member of the rap group Onyx, Jones has appeared
in a variety of films, including Clockers, Dead Presidents and
Flight of the Phoenix.
Most recently,
he appeared regularly on FX’s "Over There" and "The Shield."
"Blade"
premieres on Spike TV in June 2006.
