Marvel’s efforts to make a vampire thriller with Mahershala Ali have once again reached a dead end — last week, Yann Demange (the second director to work on «Blade») left the project. Both sides were allegedly frustrated with the long development process of».
According to the main role of Mahershala Ali, according to THR also became increasingly disillusioned with the project, even though he had «excessive influence» in the studio and chose Demange to direct after Bassam Tariq’s departure.
The deal with Ali was signed back in 2019, and filming was supposed to start in May 2023 (based on a script by another «scribe» from «True Detective» Nick Pizzolatto), but was postponed due to strikes — first of the writers, then of the actors.
In contrast to other Marvel projects that have been shut down and then relaunched (such as «Deadpool and Wolverine» and «Thunderbirds») — «Blade» dismissed most of the cast and replaced as many as 5 writers.
«The deal was made in 2019, and they still haven’t made the movie — it’s the craziest situation I’ve ever seen», — Ali’s lawyer, Shelby Weiser, told THR in a recent interview.
Prior to the strikes, «Blade» faced delays due to the pandemic and Disney’s transition to streaming, which again forced Marvel to take on «redesign».
One of the versions of the film that was proposed to be made last year was set in the 1920s, and «Scream Queen» Mia Goth was supposed to appear in the project as a vampire villain named Lilith, who was out for the blood of Blade’s daughter (Goth remains in the project). For another iteration from director Bassam Tariq, Marvel built a huge train that was never used (probably to be used in other Disney projects).
It’s not known how many millions Marvel has already spent on development, but it seems that they are now considering a completely different idea — the script is planned to be completed over the summer and immediately handed over to directors. The last announced screenwriter is Eric Pearson, known for the films «Thor: Ragnarok», «Black Widow» and «Fantastic Four».
Currently, the film’s release has been postponed until November 2025, but we should probably expect more announcements about the postponement.