What’s going on with the Marvel’s Blade movie? The departure of the second director, the multiple delays of the MCU film and more explanation
Well, we’re back, folks. Marvel has problems Sheet Movie reboots are back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons — and the latest news surrounding the superhero movie isn’t exactly encouraging to read.
In recent days, numerous new reports have emerged regarding the lengthy development of the Marvel Phase 5 film. From the departure of the second director to the exasperated comments of Mahershala Ali’s lawyer – who is still expected to star as the titular vampiric anti-hero – there’s plenty of catching up to do.
Here’s a full rundown of everything you might have missed about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie that can’t escape its developmental purgatory.
1. Marvel’s Blade movie loses another director
Sheet‘s latest round of issuance began on June 12, when multiple outlets including Variety, revealed that Yann Demange would no longer direct the film. Demange, who subsequently took up film work SheetFormer director Bassam Tariq’s departure in September 2022 would have seen an amicable parting from Marvel Studios weeks earlier. No reason has been given for Demange’s departure from the project.
It’s unclear when Marvel’s search for another individual to direct one of its most anticipated new films will end. With the film still expected to hit theaters in November 2025, the Disney subsidiary will have to move quickly to find a director if it hopes to get started on principal photography as soon as possible.
If a new filmmaker can’t be found soon, Marvel will have no choice but to delay Sheet again. It has already been postponed twice – first in October 2022, when Marvel subsequently postponed several films SheetThe game’s initial issues caused the release schedule to be adjusted, and then last June when Marvel pushed back its entire MCU film slate due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes. Considering that Sheet was announced nearly five years ago at Comic-Con 2019, it could be seven or eight years (i.e. 2026 or 2027) before the Daywalker’s final big-screen adventure *ahem* sees the light of day.
2. Try out the Marvel’s Blade movie script
Even if Marvel finds a new director quickly, there’s no guarantee they’ll be ready to meet the release date set by Blade. As diversity and The Hollywood Reporter (THR) claims that Eric Pearson is the latest player to sink his teeth into the movie script in an attempt to breathe new life into it.
Considered a safe pair of hands overseeing the rewrites of other MCU films, including Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widowand Marvel is coming The Fantastic 4 film reboot, Pearson is the sixth (!) writer to improve his screenplay. In light of Demange’s departure and Pearson’s arrival to improve the script, it seems inevitable that Blade will not begin filming in time to meet its current theatrical launch date.
3. Possible bad blood developing behind the scenes
On the fifth anniversary of Sheet‘s announcement is fast approaching – a wild milestone in itself – and it’s not surprising that more and more fans are growing increasingly concerned that Ali will leave the project.
For what it’s worth, Ali last commented on the film in December 2023, tellingly Entertainment weekly he was “genuinely encouraged” by the way development was progressing. However, that was when Demange and Michael Green (Logan, Alien: Covenant) – the film’s fifth writer – were still involved, so I suspect this latest set of setbacks won’t be music to his ears.
As a studio, Marvel rarely airs its dirty laundry in public, but it looks like some cracks are starting to open after a member of Ali’s team spoke out about the long-gestating film. Speak with THRAli’s attorney Shelby Weiser seemed to take a thinly veiled swipe at how long it’s taking for the film to escape its hellish development cycle, saying, “That deal was in 2019, and they still haven’t shot it, which is pretty much the most common.” the craziest thing from my professional experience.”
4. A humorous snipe, similar to a stake through the heart
Blade, lordylordylordy 👀 people are still looking for the secret sauce, riding snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough. Day hikers make it look easy, don’t they? 😊#DaywalkerKlique #Blade #Marvel pic.twitter.com/YZVAqg9egzJune 16, 2024
It’s not just those with close ties to Ali and/or Marvel who are baffled Sheet‘s tense development. Wesley Snipes, who played Blade in the character’s original film trilogy, took a funny swipe at the reboot’s endless problems via X/Twitter (see above).
“Blade, lordlordlord,” Snipes wrote. “People are still looking for that secret sauce, driving snowmobiles in traffic, kind of rough. Day hikers make it look easy, don’t they?”
Snipes’ tweet will likely be taken at face value — that is, as nothing more than a little bit of ribbing — by those involved in the 2025s. Sheet. Nevertheless, things aren’t looking good when the franchise’s first live-action star takes pop shots in one of Marvel’s most exciting upcoming films. Let’s hope this is the last set of headache-inducing issues it will have to deal with.