Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot is searching for its third director following the departure of Yann Demange from the Mahershala Ali movie. Following in the footsteps of original director Bassam Tariq, who left the project in 2022, Demange has now “amicably” joined a growing list of directors who have been unable to see through the new project.

The journey to bring Blade into the MCU decades after Wesley Snipes delivered his hit movies has so far been a long and fruitless one, marred by several big challenges, including almost losing its lead star. Since its announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, Blade has gone through a number of writers, had complaints from Ali over its lack of action in the original script, and now is once again without a director as its production start date looms.

Blade

Summary

The Blade films are based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, portrayed by Wesley Snipes. They were written by David S. Goyer, Marv Wolfman, and Gene Colan, directed by Stephen Norrington, Guillermo del Toro and David S. Goyer, respectively and distributed by New Line Cinema.The character was created in 1973 for Marvel Comics by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan and was a supporting character in the 1970s comic Tomb of Dracula. In the comic, Blade’s mother was bitten by a vampire while she was in labor with Blade. Thus, Blade was born as a dhampir, a human with vampire genes.

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According to The Wrap, there has been no comment yet from Marvel Studios about whether this latest setback, which follows years of pandemic and strike delays, will force a change in the already delayed November 2025 release date currently in place for the film. For now, the departure of the director is the only new change to the production, but with the movie’s hectic development already being a source of concern for fans, it is in a very precarious position indeed.

On a more positive note, it has been reported that Marvel Studios are already searching for Demange’s replacement, but will not be looking to make any rush decisions – even if that means another delay for the film. It seems that perhaps the recent changes in strategy around the release plan for the MCU and other big Disney franchises may be coming into play with Blade’s production.

Marvel Studios’ New Quality Over Quantity Rule Could Be Good for Blade

Although the numerous delays faced by Blade, and several other Marvel projects in the last few years, have been frustrating for fans, that does not mean it is a bad thing. 2023 produced one of the worst years in the history of the MCU, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania getting the year off to a surprisingly controversial start – even before the legal issues of Jonathan Majors – and The Marvels ending it with the lowest grossing MCU movie of the entire franchise.

The blip in Marvel’s otherwise decent record was put down to former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s desire to milk the Marvel machine for all it was worth with an unachievable, quick continuous churn of up to four movies a year and several TV shows on Disney+. The return of Bob Iger to the company, replacing Chapek, saw a dramatic about face in the expected output of both the Marvel and Star Wars franchises, with the returning CEO making it clear that standards had been allowed to slip in favor of swamping the market.

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Blade’s MCU Delays & Production Issues Explained

Blade has encountered many production delays and while some fans might think it is simple, there is more than slaying vampires the MCU movie must do.

When it comes to Blade, the script has already been reworked several times, and that already appears to be happening again, with Fantastic Four scribe Eric Pearson currently part of the team drafting the latest version. Although no one seems to be able to pin down exactly why the arrival of the Daywalker in the MCU is posing such a problem to navigate, for now, Mahershala Ali is still attached to the project and Blade is very much down but not out.