Marvel Studios is constantly trying to reveal its true identity bladeBut the vampire thriller remains stuck in its sheath. It recently suffered a setback when the feature film lost director Yann Demange, who is the second director to exit the project. Some sources say both sides were left disappointed with the bladeIt is a long development process.
Star Mahershala Ali is also said to be increasingly disappointed. Ali, who has been attached to the project since 2019, chose Demange in September 2022 after losing director Bassam Tariq. At the time, blade According to sources, the film was in preproduction and about two months away from principal photography, but Marvel felt Tariq was not the best fit for the project. Marvel then presented Ali with a list of directors for consideration, but Ali conducted his own search as he was concerned that the list mostly consisted of filmmakers who had not been tested at the big studio level.
Ali has at times had a huge impact on the project, in a way that few other actors have had on Marvel films. Part of this stems from the fact that blade'It started when Ali called the studio after winning an Oscar for his work. Green Book and said he wanted to blade. Ali sees the blade as his own black Pantheraccording to sources.
Demange's blade was preparing for shooting to begin in May 2023 and had hired another writer, true Detective Ali hired creator Nic Pizzolatto to finalize the script. But it was all in vain, as the writers went on strike, then the actors went on strike, and the film was shut down. “People lost about three windows to shoot other movies or shows,” one agent explained.
But unlike many other Marvel projects that have been shelved and restarted — including deadpool and wolverine And from the lightning , blade Instead, most of the actors, such as Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre, were let go and more writers were hired. In November, Marvel hired Michael Green. And shortly after Demange's departure, Marvel hired veteran writer Eric Pearson, who had recently impressed the studio with his work. from the lightning And Fantastic Four, Jumped.
It's been such a long journey that memories of an aged Ali will be reflected in a premiere in the not-so-distant future blade The latest director's split sparked outrage on social media. Even Wesley Snipes, who played the vampire hunter in three films released by New Line, gave his opinion on it. “Blade, lordylordylordy,” Snipes sniped at X.
Ali's attorney, Shelby Weiser, said, THR In a recent interview: “That deal happened in 2019, and they still haven't shot IITT, which is the strangest thing in my professional experience.”
In addition to last year's strikes, blade It fell victim to delays caused by the pandemic and Disney focusing entirely on streaming, which forced Marvel to put more production and more development on its slate.
“It didn't get enough attention,” one insider told the outlet. “It was really a victim of the 'too much' era.”
This might explain why blade There were frequent changes to the story and time period. According to sources, the version that was supposed to shoot last year was set in the 1920s, and featured Mia Goth as a vampire villain named Lilith, who wanted the blood of Blade's daughter. (Goth is attached to play the lead role in the project.) For another iteration under Tariq, Marvel built a giant train set, but it was never used. (It may be given to another Disney production.) The new look blade It is said that it is of the present time.
It's unclear how many million dollars Marvel has spent bladeCalculating development and pre-production costs. But it's not stopping just yet. Marvel has learned in recent years that rushing into production isn't beneficial. And the studio prides itself on its development-to-production ratio, which most other companies don't have. The new plan calls for scripts to be written in the summer and then go to directors.
has a special place for Marvel chief Kevin Feige bladeHe considered Snipes' 1998 film to be an eye-opener for him and one of the inspirations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's focus on B-list characters in its early days.
As he commented in 2017: “A character absolutely nobody had heard of had only appeared in a handful of issues… Tomb of Dracula Or something, turned into a huge franchise. That was always a big lesson for me, where you say, 'It doesn't matter how famous the character is, it matters how great the movie is.'”
Writers who have tried to sharpen their wits blade
February 2021: Marvel appointments Watchman Writer Stacy Osei-Kufuor has been hired to pen the script for a project that will star Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as a horror hero.
Fall 2022: Beau DeMayo, who created X-Men '97, has created his own masterpiece, which has been described as a landmark work.
April 2023: Marvel made a big announcement in view of the writers strike true Detective producer Nic Pizzolatto to write it. (He worked together blade (Ali stars in the third season of the HBO series.)
Fall 2023: After losing original director Bassam Tariq, Marvel chose Michael Starrbury (When they see us) has been hired to write a new screenplay for new director Yann Demange.
Fall 2023: The studio has hired star writer Michael Green, known for well-received genre films Logan And Blade Runner 2049,
Summer 2024: After Demange's exit as director, Marvel Studios mainstay Eric Pearson, who has written screenplays for several films, was brought on board. Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow And Fantastic Four At the finish line.
This story appeared in the June 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.