'Blade' Reboot Suffers Massive Setback
Marvel Studios was preparing to film Blade this November in Atlanta, but the production might need to be pushed back. On Tuesday, the film lost its director, Bassam Tariq. Blade will have two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali as the title character, and also stars Delroy Lindo and Old breakout, Aaron Pierre.
"Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film," Marvel told The Hollywood Reporter. "We appreciate Bassam's talent and all the work he's done getting Blade to where it is."
"It's been an honor working with the wonderful folks at Marvel," Tariq added. "We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film." Tariq was hired to direct Blade in the summer of 2021, based on his acclaimed rap drama Mogul Mowgli starring Riz Ahmed.
The script for Blade has also gone through several hands. Tariq started off with a script from Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen) before several script rewrites pushed production back before. Beau DeMayo, who worked on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Witcher, and Moon Knight, wrote the most recent script. Marvel Studios is already hunting down a new director for Blade, as production was set to start this fall. The movie also has a Nov. 3, 2023 release date.
Blade was created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan for the 1973 comic series The Tomb of Dracula. The character is a half-mortal, half-immortal who hunts vampires to avenge his mother after she was killed by one. Wesley Snipes previously played the character in New Line Cinema's 1998-2004 trilogy. During Marvel's 2019 San Diego Comic-Con panel, the studio announced Ali would play the character. Blade has already appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, just not onscreen yet. Ali had a surprise voice cameo in the Eternals post-credits scene.
Blade is just one horror project Marvel Studios has in the works. The first MCU Halloween special, Werewolf by Night, will be released on Disney+ on Oct. 7. Gael García Bernal stars as the title character, a cursed monster hunter. Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino directed the hour-long show. Laura Donnelly also plays Elsa Bloodstone. Just don't expect Ali to make an appearance.
"[Cameos] never really came up," Giacchino recently told ComicBook.com. "I mean, we talked a little bit about Blade, but in the end, it was like, 'You know what, if we're looking at this and I always described this as an episode of The Twilight Zone, you know, let's keep it contained.'"