Marvel Studios will take some additional time to polish its Blade feature film.
The studio is putting a hold on the vampire adventure movie that will feature Oscar winner Mahershala Ali after parting ties with director Bassam Tariq two weeks ago. Marvel will temporarily cease all production-related operations in Atlanta, where the picture was scheduled to begin filming in November, as it looks for a director and develops the movie further.
Early in 2023, the studio plans to resume production. Following the publishing of this article, Disney shifted Blade’s release date from Nov. 3, 2023, to Sept. 6, 2024. This was only one of several changes brought on by the film’s postponement.
As the screenplay underwent several rounds of rewriting, Blade had at least a few instances where the start of production changed. The show’s current writer is Beau DeMayo, who has previously contributed to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Witcher, and its animated film spinoff, as well as Marvel’s own Moon Knight.
Many believed that a director would be hired right after Tariq quit the project in order to minimize the production’s downtime. But it became evident in the two weeks that followed that Marvel intended to take its time and expand its search. The studio decided to use the opportunity to organize other facets of the feature film on the same date.
Since the studio revealed the project amid considerable excitement at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, Blade has been one of Marvel’s most eagerly awaited movies. Ali unexpectedly appeared at the conclusion of the Marvel panel and put on a baseball cap bearing the Blade emblem.
