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Marvel’s Blade Is Put on Pause While Seeking Director
Marvel’s ‘Blade’ has been paused, with a September 2024 release date, after director Bassam Tariq exited the film that stars Mahershala Ali in the titular role as well as Aaron Pierre and Delroy Lindo.

Marvel’s Blade Is Put on Pause While Seeking Director

“What did one blade of grass say to the other? ‘Without a director, it’s really hard to make dew.’” That’s why Disney has decided to push back production on the upcoming Marvel film Blade after losing its director, Bassam Tariq, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, which stars Mahershala Ali in the titular role as well as Aaron Pierre and Delroy Lindo, was scheduled to begin production this November, with a November 3, 2023, release date. But Disney is giving them a little bit more time to get it together with a new September 6, 2024 release. They will be continuing a search for a new director, though with this many Marvel projects going, there can’t be that many left, right? We hear Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are free.

Marvel has said that Tariq’s removal is due to production issues, not artistic differences. “Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,” Marvel stated to THR on September 27. “We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.” Tariq released his own statement, calling it an “honor” to work with Marvel on the film.

The film was announced in 2019 as part of Marvel: Phase Four and reportedly went through a number of revisions; Beau DeMayo had allegedly tapped in for rewrites of Stacy Osei-Kuffour’s script, but Marvel has not made any statements about the writing credits of the film. Ali as Blade made a brief appearance in the post-credits scene of Eternals, solidifying his place in the MCU as the character earlier than expected. Turns out there are worse things out tonight than vampires — they’re called production delays.

This post has been updated throughout.

Sources

The Hollywood Reporter

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