Any fan of Marvel comics who has turned to the MCU can agree that the character of Blade is really important to Marvel. The Blade trilogy (1998-2004) made the MCU a visible and financially reliable genre for producers.
It also made Wesley Snipes a bankable star for a long time and the rumor mill has been running the speculation wheel for a long time. And now Marvel has certainly put the project back on track as it hired Yann Demange as the new director for the upcoming Phase 5 film in 2024.
Why was it cursed? The Blade series was surprisingly important as it set a dark tone for comic book characters to have a tone of badass action. The film series proved to be a success at the box office while being critically acclaimed. But there was a lot of behind-the-scenes talk about the make-up schedule and Wesley Snipes making an appearance.
Reports suggest that Wesley was a tough guy who with his involvement with the IRS killed the franchise’s powerhouse. Blade 2.0: After the humble post-credits scene from Eternals, most MCU fans are growing their excitement for the reboot. In order to restore the beloved franchise, Marvel-Disney decided to bring in a new team of creators and announced the winner of the Oscar award Maharshala Ali as the lead in 2018.
For a while, Bassam Tariq was hired as a director, but later quit citing scheduling conflicts. And now Yann Demange, who directed Lovecraft Country will be directing, and Michael Starrbury will be writing the script. Knowing the pressure to get everything right, it’s also worth noting that Maharshala Ali was personally invested in the first phase of development.
The current script has been rewritten and the production schedule will begin in the fall of 2023 with the film scheduled for release on September 6, 2024. The character of Blade was introduced in The Tomb of Dracula #10 back in 1973, as a cautionary tale. a vampire-half-human on a mission to hunt down each vampire to avenge his mother who was killed by vampires. It’s unclear now what tone will be changed in this upcoming iteration, as the Blade Trilogy films were pretty damn action even compared to the 00′ rating.
Could Marvel take Doctor Strange: A Different Approach to Madness, and make a decent PG-13 horror flick? Whether it dares to take the Deadpool or Logan route and theme it with a gut-wrenching celebration for the audience, only time will tell. According to the cast, Maharshala Ali is the only confirmed cast member for the film, as of now. We’ll be on the lookout for any updates regarding Blade, so stay tuned.
