Blade, a film with Mahershala Ali, is underway.
It’s been over three years since Marvel Studios announced it would make a new film. The award-winning Ali stars as fan-favorite half-human, half-vampire hero.
Originally, the studio planned to begin filming this fall. However, original filmmaker Bassam Tariq dropped out of the project in September, months before the film began production.
Currently, EW is reporting that the production has found a new director in Lovecraft Country’s Yann Demange.
Demange is best known for directing thriller films such as ’71 and White Boy Rick. And he recently directed his Lovecraft Country pilot for HBO. It featured Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors.
Moreover, Demange will take on the role of executive director on the show.
After Tariq bowed out, Marvel froze production on Blade. Instead, the studio focused on making the story as fair as possible and finding the best collaborators for the filmmakers.
Finally, the studio has landed its newest director on Demange. The filmmaker will direct a new script by Michael Starrbury.
In particular, Starrbury was nominated for an Emmy for his contribution to Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us.
The film’s production is set to begin in Atlanta next year. And Blade is expected to hit theaters on September 6, 2024.
Read also: Filmmaker Rajamouli Announces ‘RRR’ Follow-up
Supposed to Be
The studio originally planned to release Blade in 2023, making it one of Marvel’s Phase 5 moves. However, future circumstances will determine whether Blade continues to fall under the Phase 5 movie category. As a result, details on the new release date are still unknown.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe sometimes dives deep into the horror genre, specifically with this year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Werewolf by Night.
However, the most recent film is reportedly darker and eerier than what Marvel previously offered. As a result, fans will see Ali make his onscreen debut as the titular character.
But the MCU already heard his voice. In one of the end credits for Eternals, he talks to Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman.
Read also: Jeremy Strong Shares the Time MCU Almost Cast Him
Blade in Action
Marvel Comics created the fictional character Blade. Marv Wolfman and penciler Gene Colan served as his creators.
The character initially appeared in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 (1973) as a supporting character. Later, he starred in his own storylines.
Blade uses his one-of-a-kind physiology to be the greatest vampire hunter. Although the studio originally portrayed him as a human immune to the bites of vampires, the adaptations later introduced Blade as a dhampir. This came after he was adapted in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Blade film series.
Moreover, he is the father of Fallon Grey.
In the movies Blade, Blade II, and Blade: Trinity, Wesley Snipes played the character, while Sticky Fingas portrayed the character in Blade: The Series. Furthermore, J.D. Hall voiced the character in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and Terry Crews in Ultimate Spider-Man and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
