Bad news for the next “Blade”. Expected for November 1, 2023, the film has just lost its director, only two months before the start of production. Marvel Studios will have to find a replacement for him.
Blade already in the MCU
The Blade superhero once had his own trilogy. In 1998, the filmmaker Stephen Norrington is in charge of directing Blade, a Marvel adventure centered on the famous vampire hunter. For the occasion, it’s Wesley Snipes who is chosen to embody this hybrid man half-human, half-vampire. The character will then return twice. In 2002 in front of Guillermo Del Toro’s camera for Blade 2 and in 2004 in front of the camera of David S. Goyer for Blade: Trinity.
The character has since been introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) during the second post-credits scene of The Eternals. You can hear the voice of Mahershala Ali, the new interpreter of Blade, which is addressed to Kit Harington’s Dark Knight. The opportunity for Marvel Studios to confirm the presence of this famous anti-hero in the MCU.
The film loses its director
In the process, Marvel Studios then confirmed the launch of a new solo adventure from Blade, worn by Mahershala Ali. Expected for 1er November 2023, the feature film was initially to be directed by Bassam Tariq. But just two months from the start of filming, the filmmaker has just given up his post. This is Variety who reports the information, saying that the director will remain involved in the project as an executive producer. In a recent press release, Bassam Tariq said:
It was an honor to work with the wonderful people at Marvel. We were able to put together a cast and a team of killers. I can’t wait to see where the next director takes the film.
The filmmaker did not, however, given no explanation for this sudden departure. In any case, he is not the first director to abandon a Marvel film along the way. Already, in the past, Scott Derrickson had indeed abandoned the filming of Doctor Strange 2 and Jon Watts that of the reboot of 4 Fantastic. While Edgar Wright had left the production of Ant Man. Everytime, different artistic were mentioned. In any case, Marvel Studios will have to find a replacement for Bassam Tariq fairly quickly. In order to prevent production from falling too far behind and upsetting the entire MCU release schedule.
