Marvel Studios’ Blade will no longer have director Bassam Tariq at the helm.
Blade, which has a November 3, 2023 release date, was preparing to begin filming in November in Atlanta. It’s unclear how Tariq’s departure will impact the start of production on the vampire action thriller, which has Oscar-winning Mahershala Ali in the title role, with the cast also including Delroy Lindo and old actor Aaron Stone.
“Due to ongoing changes in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer advancing as Director of Blade but will remain executive producer on the film,” Marvel said in a statement. at THR. “We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he has done to obtain Blade where it is.
Tariq thanked Marvel in his own statement, “It’s been an honor working with the wonderful people at Marvel. We were able to assemble a killer cast and crew. Can’t wait to see where the next director takes the movie.
Blade has had its production start changed at least once before, if not twice, and sources say the project has gone through several rounds of script rewrites. Beau DeMayo, who has worked on shows such as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the witcher and its animated feature spin-off, as well as Marvel’s Moon Knight, is the current author. A source indicates that the studio is already in search mode for a new director.
Blade has been one of Marvel’s most anticipated films since the studio announced the project to much fanfare at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. At the very end of the Marvel panel, Ali made a surprise appearance and donned a baseball cap with the Blade logo. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige later said THR that Ali had personally called him to express his interest in playing the character.
Blade was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan for the years 1973 Dracula’s tomb No. 10. He is a half-mortal, half-immortal who hunts vampires to avenge his mother, who was killed by a vampire while giving birth to him. Wesley Snipes previously played the character in a trilogy in the early 2000s.
Tariq directed and co-wrote Mughal Mowgli, the highly rated rap drama starring Riz Ahmed. He had been on Blade since the summer of 2021, working on a first screenplay of watchmen scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour.
Blade has already debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at least partially. In 2021 Eternals Ali made a surprise appearance in a post-credits scene suggesting that Marvel is about to explore a horror side of the MCU. The director’s departure comes as Marvel prepares to release its first horror-themed project, the Halloween special. night werewolfwhich arrives on Disney+ on October 7th.
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