Blade: Marvel hits pause on reboot as the search for a director continues

UPDATE: Marvel and Disney have officially pushed the release of Blade back to September 6, 2024.

The original article follows:

Two weeks ago, we heard that director Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) was stepping away from the helm of the new Blade movie, which will be set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is going to star Mahershala Ali (Green Book) as the titular vampire slayer, due to scheduling issues. With filming set to begin in Atlanta this November so Blade could be ready for its November 3, 2023 release date, it was expected that Marvel would find a new director very quickly and stick with the production start date. But now The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Marvel has decided to put the project on pause instead.

Crew members in Atlantia were notified today that Marvel is “temporarily shutting down production-related activities in Atlanta” while they search for a director and continue putting the finishing touches on the film’s development. Marvel is reportedly “hoping to restart the production in early 2023″… but that might be cutting it too close for the November 2023 release date. Blade‘s release is likely going to be delayed.

Rather than rush the search for a new director, Marvel decided to slow down and “deepen the search”. A source told The Hollywood Reporter that “They want to really get it right.”

When news that Tariq was vacating the director’s chair first broke, Marvel provided the following statement: “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. We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.“

Tariq added: “It’s been an honor working with the wonderful folks at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film.“

The cast that has been assembled around Ali includes Delroy Lindo (Get Shorty) and Aaron Pierre (Old).

Tariq had been working on Blade since the summer of 2021. A script written by Watchmen‘s Stacy Osei-Kuffour was in place when Tariq signed on, but The Hollywood Reporter notes that “Blade has seen its start of production shift at least once before, if not twice, and sources say the project has undergone several rounds of script rewrites. Beau DeMayo, who has worked on shows such as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Witcher and its animated feature spinoff, as well as Marvel’s own Moon Knight, is the current writer.“

Who do you think should direct the new Blade movie? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.