it has been five years since a Blade reboot, starring Mahershala Ali, was announced, which was initially set to hit the big screens back in November of 2023. But as the story goes, the film was pushed back to September of 2024 after the departure of Bassam Tariq, who was initially hired to helm its direction, which led to Yann Demange being brought in.
However, things aren’t looking pretty for the reboot, as it loses another director, and Ali’s attorney is dumbfounded by the amount of setbacks the project has sustained so far.
Mahershala Ali’s Attorney Reflects on Blade’s Tumultuous Development
When the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike happened last year, Blade was one of the first MCU projects to be impacted, leading to its release date being delayed to February 2025. However, it is now being reported that the film has been pushed back to November of 2025, as Yann Demange has exited the movie (via THR) before it could enter into the production phase.
While the film is back to square one, per reports, Marvel Studios has already started its quest for the next director, but fans are reasonably concerned if the film will ever make it out of development hell.
Sharing her perspective on the matter, Shelby Weiser, who serves as attorney for Mahershala Ali, stressed the creative shake-ups have been the craziest thing she has experienced in her career.
That deal was in 2019, and they still haven’t shot it, which is pretty much the craziest thing in my professional experience,
As of now, we can only hope that Blade eventually gets things together and graces the silver screen in the foreseeable future.
The Reason Why Jordan Peele Won’t Be the One to Direct Blade
While Demange has parted ways with the House of Mouse, with reports stressing the departure was amicable, the recent rumors of Jordan Peele meeting with the Marvel studios had fans excited. Following his directing style, it’s not hard to see why fans would prefer him to take the wheel over Mahershala Ali’s Blade, but following his previous statements, this might never transpire.
Back in 2019, when Blade was initially announced, the director was asked about his thoughts on helming big-budget franchises. Peele revealed he had already turned down turning them down despite feeling total temptation, despite being a comic-book appreciator. The director expressed that he doesn’t consider himself “a true fanboy” and would much rather commit to telling original stories.
So many of those properties — it’s a childhood dream to be able to essentially see what you saw in your imagination as a child, watching or reading or whatever you were doing with that stuff. It’s a filmmaker’s dream. But you know, I feel like I only have so much time. I have a lot of stories to tell, and it just doesn’t feel right.
It’ll be interesting to see where Blade goes from here, as with two directors out, fans will hope the production gets back on track sooner rather than later.
