Mahershala Ali’s planned Blade film has been scrapped, but viewers can still revisit one of his earliest major roles. The actor’s breakout performance came in The 4400, a four-season science-fiction series currently available to stream for free on Tubi.
Before Blade, Ali joined The 4400
Ali had already played memorable antagonists including Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes in Luke Cage, the Prowler in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Titan in Invincible. His chance to lead a supernatural superhero story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended when he confirmed that Blade would not proceed.
In The 4400, which premiered on CBS in 2004, Ali plays Richard Tyler, a United States Air Force fighter pilot who vanished during the Korean War. Richard suddenly returns in present-day Washington inside a ball of light, alongside 4,399 other missing people. None of the 4,400 has aged since disappearing.
For a show built around a huge unanswered question, the series moves quickly. The five-episode first season reveals that people from the future abducted the missing individuals, beginning with the first disappearance in 1946. The group then gave them a neurotransmitter called promicin, which granted special abilities, before returning them to 2004 to help avert a coming catastrophe.
A conspiracy built around superpowers
The abilities develop gradually, with only a small number of the returned people displaying powers during the opening season. The second season expands the central conspiracy through Dennis Ryland, played by Peter Coyote. As head of the government agency created to manage the event, Ryland knows about promicin and has secretly given the 4400 an inhibitor to prevent them becoming a perceived threat.
That suppression programme begins to collapse when the inhibitor produces potentially fatal side effects. Large numbers of the 4400 become ill while authorities work towards a cure. Ryland’s willingness to place public safety above the welfare of the returned people makes him a particularly persuasive antagonist, even when his decisions become increasingly ruthless.
Once the inhibitor is discontinued, powers spread through much of the 4400. Richard develops telekinesis, although controlling it proves difficult at first. His story takes a darker turn through his daughter Isabelle, played by Megalyn Echikunwoke. Isabelle possesses extraordinary power and becomes the principal villain during the third season.
Ali left the regular cast after season 3, following Richard’s tragic storyline. He returned as a guest star in season 4, with Richard now able to use his abilities fully and pursuing a morally uncertain plan involving Isabelle. The role offered an early glimpse of the controlled menace that would later become a familiar part of Ali’s screen presence.
The 4400 is more interested in consequences than spectacle
Although the series occasionally delivers large-scale superhero action, its stronger ideas concern what extraordinary abilities would do to ordinary society. Shawn Farrell, played by Patrick Flueger, can heal people. Jordan Collier, portrayed by Billy Campbell, first prepares the 4400 for confrontation with the government before establishing a city intended to become a utopia for people with powers.
The conflict spreads beyond the returned population. Some ordinary people seek promicin for themselves, despite the drug killing half of those who take it. Groups in both the present and the future attempt to destroy, control or neutralise the 4400. The result is a thoughtful take on the superhero genre, closer to The X-Men without giant robots and with greater attention to unusual abilities such as pheromone reading or producing weight-loss enzymes.
For readers who enjoy the hardware side of speculative entertainment, the show’s escalating powers also make a good companion to RETROCADE’s arcade news and gaming stories. Its world-building has the same appeal as discovering a strange new title for a home setup, whether that means browsing full arcade machines or choosing a compact bartop cabinet for a smaller room.
A complete story despite its cancellation
The 4400 was cancelled after four seasons because of low ratings and the Writers Guild of America strikes. Even so, creators and writers René Echevarria and Scott Peters were able to bring the major conflicts to a dramatic conclusion.
The ending does not pretend that the transformed world is fair. Some decent characters endure terrible losses, while people with questionable motives achieve their goals. The finale instead focuses on the wonder and fear of a society permanently changed by the 4400’s return.
That resolution gives the series an unusually satisfying finish. It may not be the Mahershala Ali project audiences were expecting, but it remains a worthwhile science-fiction drama and an important early showcase for the actor.
Where to watch The 4400 in Australia
The 4400 is available to stream for free on Tubi. You can also learn more about the series through this The 4400 series listing. If this kind of genre deep dive has you planning a dedicated entertainment space, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide covers the key choices before you buy.
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