Plus, Ali would be only the third actor to play Blade in live action, following Wesley Snipes and Sticky Fingaz, whereas Gordon has been portrayed much more often over the decades.
If you have to choose between playing Commissioner Gordon and Blade, I can’t blame Mahershala Ali for picking the latter.
Gordon is definitely one of the most important supporting Batman characters, but Blade is a lead role, allowing Ali to be front and center in his own movie.