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  • Director Yann Demange Departs Marvel’s ‘Blade’

    (Left) Mahershala Ali attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images. (Right) Marvel Studios' 'Blade.'
    (Left) Mahershala Ali attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images. (Right) Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’

    Preview:

    • Director Yann Demange has left Marvel’s ‘Blade’.
    • Mahershala Ali is still attached to star.
    • Marvel is hoping to have the movie out next year.

    And so the wheel turns on ‘Blade’. Possibly the most troubled of Marvel’s movies in development, it has been a nightmare for the studio, losing writers, cast and directors as it stumbles through the process.

    Today brings yet another issue, as, according to The Wrap, Yann Demange becomes the latest director to depart the film, which –– at least for now –– still boasts ‘Green Book’s Mahershala Ali as its star.

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    What’s the story of ‘Blade’?

    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.
    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.

    Originally crafted by Gene Colan and Marv Wolfman as a human who was immune to vampire bites, he was later changed to Eric Cross Brooks, whose mother is murdered by the bloodsucker Deacon Frost as she gives birth. The attack passes on vampire enzymes to her child, who becomes a Dhampir – a mix of both human and vampire.

    Gifted with speed, strength, and the ability to walk in the daylight (hence his other name, the Daywalker), his mission is to hunt down and destroy vampires. In his time, he’s crossed paths with many notable Marvel characters in the comics, including Spider-Man and the Avengers. He’s also battled living vampire Morbius, who had his own movie out in 2022, starring Jared Leto.

    Yet Blade is probably most famous for the trilogy of movies released by New Line in 1998, 2002 and 2004, starring Wesley Snipes as the gruff, sword-swinging character.

    The MCU version’s story is still so far a mystery: whether it’ll deal with Blade’s origins is unknown for now, but we can expect plenty of vampire-killing action.

    What has happened with ‘Blade’ so far?

    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.
    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.

    The movie was launched on the public consciousness with much excitement: Ali was announced as the star as a surprise at the end of Marvel’s 2019 San Diego Comic-Con panel.

    Roughly two years later, ‘Mogul Mowgli’ director Bassam Tariq was hired to make the movie and with Stacy Osei-Kuffour on board to write the script, the movie was headed towards a shoot planned for late in 2022 and a November 3rd, 2023, release date.

    That, obviously, did not happen. Multiple reports of script issues led to changes. Marvel veteran writer Eric Pearson, who most recently worked on ‘Fantastic Four’ is currently looking to salvage the ‘Blade’ script. Michael Starrbury, Nic Pizzolatto and Michael Green wrote previous drafts.

    Tariq jumped ship in September 2022, but there was hope when ‘White Boy Rick’s Demange was hired to replace him. Now, of course, Demange has similarly jumped ship.

    With Marvel’s new commitment to quality over quantity (only one movie from the company will be released this year –– ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, next month) the delay is likely more a sign of it trying to get ‘Blade’ right as opposed to rushing it into theaters.

    Related Article: Writers Strike Leads To Marvel Delaying Production on ‘Blade’ Starring Mahershala Ali

    When will ‘Blade’ be in theaters?

    ‘Blade’ is a movie that Disney and Marvel have dated more than once, only for the film’s to require a shift. Currently, the release is set for November 7th, 2025, though the latest director departure may well scupper those plans.

    Marvel Studios' 'Blade.'
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’

    Other ‘Blade’ Movies and TV Shows

    Buy ‘Blade’ Movies on Amazon

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  • Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Delayed Again

    Marvel Studios' 'Blade.'
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’

    The hits keep coming for Marvel –– and in this case, it’s not a success like the box office launch of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’. The company has had a real struggle getting its planned ‘Blade’ movie to screens and is facing yet another delay.

    This time, the issue is the Writers Guild of America strike. The union’s members downed tools and began picketing on May 2nd after failing to work out a new contract with the studios and other companies such as Netflix.

    Under the terms of the strike, writers in the union cannot work on movies and TV series that are signatories to its contract –– and that includes both Disney and Marvel.

    Most recently, ‘True Detective’ creator Nic Pizzolatto was hired to write the latest draft of the script, but given his union membership, he can’t keep on working for now.

    So, according to The Hollywood Reporter, team Marvel has chosen to press pause on production of the movie, which had been due to begin next month in Atlanta.

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    Blade: the story so far

    Despite all the excitement over the announcement that Oscar winner Mahershala Ali would play the character during Marvel’s 2019 Comic-Con panel, the progress has been slow.

    ‘Mogul Mowgli’ director Bassam Tariq was hired to make the movie, only to depart over scheduling issues –– and given a shift in writers to Michael Starrbury, also seemed to indicate problems with the script.

    ‘White Boy Rick’s Yann Demage came aboard in November last year, but Pizzolatto’s hiring signaled that the movie was still having issues –– mostly, apparently, with tone. ‘Blade’ was never going to be quite the usual Marvel quip-fest, choosing instead to go a slightly grittier route.

    But treading that line has apparently been trickier than anyone imagined.

    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.
    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.

    Related Article: ‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto Working on Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Script

    Comic book origins and cinematic past

    Originally crafted by Gene Colan and Marv Wolfman as a human who was immune to vampire bites, he was later changed to Eric Cross Brooks, whose mother is murdered by the bloodsucker Deacon Frost as she gives birth. The attack passes on vampire enzymes to her child, who becomes a Dhampir – a mix of both human and vampire.

    Gifted with speed, strength, and the ability to walk in the daylight (hence his other name, the Daywalker), his mission is to hunt down and destroy vampires. In his time, he’s crossed paths with many notable Marvel characters in the comics, including Spider-Man and the Avengers. He’s also battled living vampire Morbius, who had his own movie out earlier this year, starring Jared Leto.

    Yet Blade is probably most famous for the trilogy of movies released by New Line in 1998, 2002 and 2004, starring Wesley Snipes as the gruff, sword-swinging character.

    Marvel had targeted a September 6th, 2024, release date, but that is all but certain to shift.

    ‘Blade’ is just one of the projects being affected by the industrial action. While most of the movies for this year and into next are either shot or in the middle of work, it’ll impact both big screen and small screen work beyond that –– the likes of ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight’ –– and the next season of ‘Stranger Things’ have both paused their writing rooms, with the ‘Things’ team putting out a social media post explaining the situation and supporting the strike.

    Marvel Studios' 'Blade.'
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Blade:’

    Buy ‘Blade’ Movies on Amazon

    ‘Blade’ is produced by Marvel Studios, and Kevin Feige Productions. It is scheduled to release in theaters on September 6th, 2024.

  • Nic Pizzolatto Re-Writing Marvel’s ‘Blade’

    Marvel Studios' 'Blade.'
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’

    On the big screen, we’ll be expecting to see ‘Blade‘ deal with the threat of vampires. But to get there, at least as part of the MCU, the character has had to deal with something far trickier ––development issues.

    Despite all the excitement over the announcement that Oscar winner Mahershala Ali would play the character during Marvel’s 2019 Comic-Con panel, the progress has been slow.

    ‘Mogul Mowgli’ director Bassam Tariq was hired to make the movie, only to depart over scheduling issues –– and given a shift in writers to Michael Starrbury, also seemed to indicate problems with the script.

    ‘White Boy Rick’s Yann Demage came aboard in November last year, but writing-wise, there is, according to The Hollywood Reporter, another change in the cards on the script front. ‘True Detective’ creator Nic Pizzolatto has been working on a draft based on Starrbury’s for a few weeks now.

    He’s writing as quickly as possible, as the movie is scheduled to shoot at the end of this month in Atlanta.

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    ‘True Detective’ reunion

    Pizzolatto’s presence does indeed mark a ‘True Detective’ reunion, since Ali starred as Detective Wayne Hays in the third season of the anthology show (a fourth, starring Jodie Foster is on the way this year, but no longer involves Pizzolatto as showrunner.)

    Mahershala Ali in HBO's 'True Detective' Season 3.
    Mahershala Ali in HBO’s ‘True Detective’ Season 3.

    Where does Blade fit into the comics?

    Originally crafted by Gene Colan and Marv Wolfman as a human who was immune to vampire bites, he was later changed to Eric Cross Brooks, whose mother is murdered by the bloodsucker Deacon Frost as she gives birth. The attack passes on vampire enzymes to her child, who becomes a Dhampir – a mix of both human and vampire.

    Gifted with speed, strength, and the ability to walk in the daylight (hence his other name, the Daywalker), his mission is to hunt down and destroy vampires. In his time, he’s crossed paths with many notable Marvel characters in the comics, including Spider-Man and the Avengers. He’s also battled living vampire Morbius, who had his own movie out earlier this year, starring Jared Leto.

    Yet Blade is probably most famous for the trilogy of movies released by New Line in 1998, 2002 and 2004, starring Wesley Snipes as the gruff, sword-swinging character.

    The MCU version’s story is still so far, a mystery: whether it’ll deal with Blade’s origins is unknown for now, but we can expect plenty of vampire-killing action.

    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.
    Blade from Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.

    Related Article: Marvel’s Blade: Mia Goth joins the MCU’s take on the Daywalker’s Vampire Story

    Who else is in the new movie?

    Around Ali, Team Marvel has cast the likes of Delroy Lindo, ‘The Underground Railroad’s Aaron Pierre and, more recently, Mia Goth, star of ‘X’, ‘Pearl’ and ‘Infinity Pool’.

    Assuming no more interruptions or major changes, Marvel is aiming to have ‘Blade’ in theaters on September 6th next year.

    Marvel Studios' 'Blade.'
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Blade:’

    Buy ‘Blade’ Movies on Amazon

    ‘Blade’ is produced by Marvel Studios, and Kevin Feige Productions. It is scheduled to release in theaters on September 6th, 2024.