Are we to believe the intel that Marvel’s “Blade” is FINALLY headed into production this fall? That’s what was being suggested to me on Monday. I decided not to report on it. However, now Production Weekly has a posting for shooting to begin … in the fall. By all accounts, this seems to be the target for Marvel.
This project has been around for five years now. Back in 2019, at San Diego’s ComicCon, Marvel had announced Ali as the next Blade. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after that and the film’s development took a few steps back.
The film’s intended release date also keeps changing. “Blade” was originally supposed to come out in November 2023, then it got delayed to September 2024, then February 14th, 2025 and now it’s officially dated for November 7, 2025. Then again, Jeff Sneider has stated that the film would most likely be delayed to 2026.
Back in April, “True Detective” creator/writer Nic Pizzolatto was tapped to pen the latest round of rewrites. He was the fifth writer to officially take on the “Blade” reboot after Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury and Beau DeMayo took a crack at the script. However, Pizzolatto was ousted, replaced by Michael Green (“Logan”). It looks as though, after, at least, six rewrites, Green finally nailed the script.
There have also been rumors of star Mahershala Ali dropping out of the project, which only intensified after Aaron Pierre bowed out of the film this month. No worries, Ali is still very much going to play Blade and he’s said to be very happy with the new script.
MCU head Kevin Feige’s hiring of Green has given the film some momentum, we think, and, since the last few MCU movies have had ridiculously inflated budgets, the R-rated film is set to have a budget of less than $100M. A very good sign. No need for bloat with this one.
Last year, French filmmaker Yann Demange (“71,” “White Boy Rick”) was hired to replace Bassam Tariq as ‘Blade’ director. Mia Goth was also added to the cast alongside Delroy Lindo. On-paper, the project sounds like one of the more interesting MCU films in recent years. Here’s hoping the delays are now yesterday’s news and the fall date for start of production sticks.
The ‘Smile’ franchise has a new director. David Bruckner, who made “The Night House” and the 2022 “Hellraiser” reboot, has been hired to direct “Smile 3” for Paramount.