Marvel’s ‘Blade’ is Back on Track with New Writer & Director
Marvel’s Blade reboot has found two great talents to take on writing and directing. It looks like this movie is back on track!
The movie has seen its production delayed several times since then. First, the pandemic, then script rewrites, and then it lost a director right before filming was scheduled to start. It looks like it was more than the director. The project was put on hold due to issues with the screenplay. Neither Mahershala Ali nor Kevin Fiege was happy with it – the action wasn’t punchy enough, and the overall story didn’t do the character justice. So, Marvel opted to return to the drawing board with fresh eyes.
Yann Demange has been brought on as director. He directed the pilot for Lovecraft Country and helmed the award-winning ’71. During the last month, an initial run of rewrites was done by Beau DeMayo, who has worked on Moon Knight. He’s being replaced by Michael Starrbury, who is known for When They See Us and Colin in Black & White.
Yann-Demange (L), Michael-Starrbury (R)
What This Means for Marvel’s Blade
Starrbury is penning an entirely new script – they’re throwing out everything. Before all of the shakeups happened, unconfirmed reports said that the Blade reboot would be a period piece that featured social commentary. The character hit the scene in the 1970s during the Black Power movement. Both Starrbury and Demange have experiences with stories that feature those themes. They are excellent choices, especially if that’s the direction this is going.
I am, however, hoping they update Blade’s wardrobe just a little if they’re going to do a true-to-comics origin story. Those yellow-tinted glasses and green peacoat are right out.
Tomb of Dracula #10 (1973), via Marvel
There’s also the question of how this will tie in (because the MCU demands it) with the rest of Phase 5. Blade has been linked to Kit Harrington’s Black Knight, but no one knows where he fits in all of this, either. It’s one of the many dangling threads left after The Eternals. Neither fit neatly into the Multiverse Saga. I’d say it would be a great time to do a stand-alone movie, but we all know Marvel doesn’t do those. I digress….
With a new team, Marvel is sticking with the most recent dates. Filming will start next year, and the release date stays on September 6, 2024. There’s been movement in the casting department – Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have signed on. The whole thing is a couple of steps closer to getting off the ground. Let’s hope that the delays and new hires make for a better movie, not worse.
