I’m not one to make much of curses, but it really does seem like the Blade—Marvel’s feature film starring Mahershala Ali as the daywalker, Eric Brooks—is running into quite a string of bad luck. After director Bassim Tariq quietly exited the production two weeks ago, citing scheduling conflicts, it appeared as if there was no change in the the Marvel Movie Machine Magic. Now, however, the Hollywood Reporter says that the film is pausing pre-production while the studio searches for a new director.
According to THR, Marvel is aiming to start up the production again in 2023. There’s been no word on what this will do to the release schedule, but it’s likely that we’ll hear that the November 2023 release date previously touted by Marvel is going to be pushed back at least a little bit. Marvel is using this time to “coagulate other aspects of the feature project,” according to THR.
When Kevin Feige brought Ali on stage in 2019 during San Diego Comic-Con, everyone was shocked, excited, and a little bit wary. Sure, Ali is an Oscar-winning star, and there’s no question that he will do amazing in whatever he’s given—but there’s a lot of rewriting, new screenplays, and changes of hands happening here. Notable is the fact that the script is currently in the hands of Beau DeMayo (Moon Knight). However, it was originally stated that Stacy Osei-Kuffour was going to write the script; she would have been the first Black woman to write a full length Marvel film.
io9 will keep you posted on any Blade updates as and when we learn them.
Update October 11, 2:40pm: Disney has just announced that the new release date for Blade is now September 6, 2024.
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