Interview: Gabe Kunda as Blade in Marvel Rivals and a champion of the arts

Blade has officially entered Marvel Rivals! He's a duelist character who brings style and iconic energy to the game, and esports.gg sat down with Blade's voice actor, Gabe Kunda himself, for an exclusive interview! We talked about what it takes to voice Blade in Marvel Rivals, what the role means to him, and how his other work, including what he does with the Light Motif Foundation, shows how much he cares about the arts.

In his interview with esports.gg, Kunda revealed that voicing Blade came together like it was straight out of a movie. Just weeks before landing the role, he told fans at a convention that Blade was his dream Marvel character to voice. A week later, he got the audition and then the part. To prepare for everything, he revisited Blade’s appearances in the movies and the games.

“I did a little bit of research in that I watched a couple of the clips of the movies again because I’m pretty familiar with that, and then also some video games and stuff that he was in just to understand the arc and the growth of Blade since the '90s – ‘98 specifically with the movie,” Kunda said. “Getting that information really helped because it helped carve what I was going to bring to it. But I also had to be careful not to deep dive too much so that I didn't completely sound like a carbon copy.”

He also shared that Blade is one of the few Black lead characters in Marvel and played a key role in putting Marvel back on the map. Although it’s specific to Marvel Rivals, the role means so much to him. Playing Blade is something unexpected, but what excites him the most is sharing the role with young fans at schools and seeing their faces light up when he tells them that he’s in their favorite video game.

"It means the world. I don’t even think I can put into words how much this character means to me. There aren’t a lot of forward-facing Black characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe," Kunda said. "I mean, you have your now Captain America, you have Black Panther, and then you have some of the supporting cast, but in terms of leads and a title that has very much helped put Marvel back on the map? I mean, you think about the three Blade movies that are very instrumental in putting Marvel back in the space of creating movies. This is huge for me. And I know that it’s Marvel Rivals-specific, so it’s just this kind of universe, but it’s my whole universe for me."

Blade's kit and references in Marvel Rivals give off peak Devil May Cry (DMC) energy, and the parallel between Blade being half-human, half-vampire and Dante and Vergil being half-human, half-demon is not lost to us. While recording for Blade, Kunda also noticed the DMC–inspired touches in the character's kit. He had played DMC5 before and even paused to confirm the Vergil references during a session. One of Kunda's absolute favorite voice lines in Marvel Rivals, however, involves Luna Snow.

"I think it’s the one when he’s talking to Luna, who skates around and stuff like that. He says, 'Some folks always trying to skate uphill, always trying to skate uphill.' That’s his line, and I felt like fans who knew the movie and who watched Wesley Snipes would go crazy for it," Kunda told esports.gg.

He continued, "It’s funny because before they released that line online, I was getting a lot of messages like, 'You guys better recording this, you better record this,' and I was like, 'I can’t tell you if we did or not — you got to stick around and find out.' And they did. So that’s one of those moments where I think the Marvel Rivals team, NetEase, and the Marvel team as a whole do a really, really good job of some fan service if they can."

Kunda himself is also ready to play Marvel Rivals as Blade. During the interview, he was in the process of downloading the game and revealed that he hopes to spend the weekend playing it on his Twitch channel. Since it’s his first time playing Marvel Rivals, he’s excited to share clips on his YouTube channel as well and have fun trolling everyone with his Blade voice. His gamer tag? TheRealBladeVA, of course!

"My favorite thing about the kit is when he's in his vampiric mode and he's just running around and it's him doubling himself. And the more he uses his sword, the faster he gets and actually regens as well," he added.

Speaking of interacting with the community, Kunda said he feels lucky to be part of supportive ones that deeply care about video games and stories. Sometimes, fans know more lore than he does, and their enthusiasm motivates him to do his best performance. Even on days when he feels drained or uncertain, the positive responses and personal messages from fans remind him of the impact of his work. To Kunda, the community is the heart of his passion and the biggest energy boost that keeps him going.

In fact, Kunda himself first discovered voice acting in high school when classmates and teachers praised his voice and asked him to read entire paragraphs. That encouragement inspired him to research the field and eventually create a voiceover demo. With prior acting experience, he found it easier to transition to the mic. He now encourages aspiring voice actors to begin with acting classes, then move into voice-specific training, create a demo, and look for agency representation based on their goals.

A way that Kunda gives back to communities is through his Light Motif Foundation, which is a nonprofit that supports arts programs in schools. Inspired by his love of music and the idea of little ideas growing into something bigger, Kunda helps fund students pursuing unconventional arts paths and donates to Title I schools. He wants to challenge the notion that studying the arts isn’t a viable career and believes that arts and entertainment are driving forces of culture.

"[The arts are] typically looked at as like, 'Oh, you're never going to get anywhere if you're just going to go study music or going to go study acting' — and that's not true. You can make a living with this and you can change lives."

As for parting words, Kunda shared that he's part of a Grammy-nominated acapella group called King's Return. The group performs jazz, R&B, and soul music. Kunda sings bass and enjoys showing a different side of himself outside of voice acting. King's Return is on YouTube as well!

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more interviews, news, and updates!