Marvel’s Blade Loses Director As Bassam Tariq Leaves Project, Reports MCU Movie Is In Trouble
Blade, the next Marvel movie based on the vampire hunter, has lost its director. Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) will no longer helm the Mahershala Ali-directed film, thanks to “ongoing changes” to the production schedule. The film, which is slated for release on November 3, 2023, was preparing to begin filming later this year, but it is now unclear what impact Tariq’s departure will have on production. At San Diego Comic-Con this year, it was revealed that Blade would be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 5.
“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 Studios told The Hollywood Reporter in a prepared statement. “We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he has done to obtain Blade where it is. In a separate statement, Tariq confirmed his exit from the role, as the studio begins looking for a replacement.
The struggling MCU film has had its production schedule changed several times, with several rounds of script rewrites. Stacy Osei-Kuffour, best known for HBO watchmenwrote the screenplay.
I’m told that the current BLADE script is about 90 pages long and has exactly TWO (dull) action sequences. Mahershala said he was very frustrated with the process. Feige said he flaunts too thin. But hey, that’s exactly what the sources tell me. Don’t shoot the messenger
—Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) September 28, 2022
Tariq’s exit was first reported by an insider Jeff Sneider, who claimed on Twitter that Ali was “frustrated” with the production – over a script that’s only around 90 pages long and features two “lackluster” action sequences. According to his sources, Beau DeMayo, who has writing credits for moon knight and The Witcher, is considered Blade’s new scribe.
Details about the Blade The reboot was surprisingly rare, considering the movie was first announced in 2019. Ali’s vampire hunter Eric Brooks made a cameo in the MCU last year, thanks to a voice-over appearance. offscreen in a post-credits scene attached to Eternals by Chloé Zhao. In the scene, Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington) comes into possession of the ebony blade, the casing of which has the words “Death is my reward” engraved in Latin. Ali’s voiceover says, “Are you ready for this, Mr. Whitman?” which was enough to get Marvel comics fans excited for the character.
For the moment, Blade is scheduled for release on November 3, 2023. Given the circumstances, that may not hold up. Before Blade appears, the MCU — on the big screen — will give us Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in November, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in February 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May 2023 and The Marvels in July 2023.
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