Marvel puts "Blade" on ice - for now
After the loss of director Bassam Tariq, Marvel's upcoming "Blade" film starring Mahershala Ali is put on hold. But only for a short time: the studio wants to take its time to steer the project in new creative directions.
It's been three years since Marvel announced "Blade" to thunderous applause. Now the studio has to hit the brakes: Last month, director Bassam Tariq dropped out - just weeks before shooting was to begin. The culprits were said to be "ongoing shifts in the production schedule" and "creative differences". Which means everything and nothing. By now, however, it should be clear that there was much more behind the separation. Because Marvel is now stopping the entire production.
For now, at least.
A cascade of postponements
The temporary halt in production is reported by The Hollywood Reporter. According to the industry magazine, Marvel hopes to resume work on the film as early as early next year, after a quiet search for a new director. The new director will primarily help "develop Blade as a whole", according to the magazine.
No one knows what that means in concrete terms. What is obvious is that there is still a lot of preliminary work to be done before the first clapperboard can be dropped for the start of shooting. Lead actor and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is said to be unhappy. The script not good enough. And Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige too scattered and involved in too many projects. Journalist Jeff Sneider, who has good sources, said as much in a recent tweet:
Mir wurde gesagt, dass das aktuelle «Blade»-Drehbuch etwa 90 Seiten umfasst und genau ZWEI (glanzlose) Actionsequenzen enthält. Mahershala soll sehr frustriert über den Prozess sein. Über Feige sage man, er sei zu sehr eingespannt. Aber hey, das ist nur das, was mir die Quellen sagen. Don’t shoot the messenger.
This also pushes back the film release of "Blade". After all, filming should have started in a few weeks. That is now impossible. And with the postponement of "Blade" comes zig more. Specifically, these are:
- "Blade": from 3 November 2023 to 6 September 2024 .- "Deadpool 3": from 6 September 2024 to 8 November 2024
- "Fantastic Four": From 8 November 2024 to 14 February 2025 .- "Avengers: Secret Wars": from 7 November 2025 to 1 May 2026
- "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty": Keeps its start date of 2 May 2025
Who knows if Marvel will take the time to make the "Blade vs. Morbius" that thousands of fans have been clamouring for instead? No, fun. Judging by Marvel's recent rather average films with no direction or concept, chances are the postponement will ultimately turn out to be a blessing. No one wants to see the iconic daywalker in a rushed production à la "Black Widow".
I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»