Marvel’s upcoming Blade movie is back in the news and yet again it isn’t for good reasons. Yann Demange (‘71 and Lovecraft Country) has left the project as director, which marks the second director to exit the film in three years. This is the latest setback for the project, which was announced in 2019 with much anticipation as it would see Oscar winner Mahershala Ali take on the role of the iconic vampire hunter.
The news comes from The Wrap, which reports that the actual parting happened a while ago (though no specific time frame is stated) and that it was “entirely amicable.” Demange was brought on as director in 2022 following the exit of Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) who joined the project in 2021. The writing team has also been in constant flux. MCU veteran writer Eric Pearson is currently working on the latest version of the script but he is rewriting and building off of the work of a long list that includes four previous writers. At one point Blade had been relegated to “fourth lead” of the movie, and Ali was reportedly close to leaving.
In addition to crew leaving, the planned production start was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike that halted nearly all Hollywood film production. Blade was originally slated for a 2023 release, which it has clearly missed by a long shot. Currently, the project has a November 7, 2025 release date.
Through all of the setbacks Mahershala Ali has remained attached to the project, and Marvel seems to be committed to getting the movie right. While the long list of issues Blade has faced make it seem in danger, it might not be all bad news. Just last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Disney would reduce Marvel movie output to roughly two to three movies every year. That hopefully means it is taking a quality-over-quantity approach, and with several movies on the horizon already, including Deadpool & Wolverine, Blade will be given the chance to take its time and get everything right.
.
Leave a Reply