The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Blade reboot movie has found its new director and writer. Mahershala Ali, who portrayed Cottonmouth in Luke Cage, is reentering the MCU, but this time as a completely different character, as he is set to play Blade on the big screen. While his solo film had Bassam Tariq as its director, the filmmaker ended up departing the Blade project, forcing Marvel Studios to go back to the drawing board.
However, the search is finally over, as Deadline reports that Lovecraft Country pilot director Yann Demange has been tapped to helm the Blade movie. The trade also reveals that When They See Us writer Michael Starrbury has been hired to pen the screenplay for the MCU reboot. At the time of writing, no filming start date was revealed for the new Blade movie. Previously, when Tariq departed the reboot, X-Men '97 head writer Beau DeMayo boarded the Blade movie to retool the script.
What Blade's New Director & Writer Say About MCU Reboot
With Blade having Demange and Starrbury on board the creative team, it says a few things about the state of the MCU reboot. For starters, having Starrbury penning a whole new script means that Blade is starting over from scratch, throwing out any previous plot points and ideas that they had originally considered during Tariq's time. While never verified by Marvel Studios or Disney, there were reports that Blade was initially going to be a time period piece. Both Demange and Starrbury having their own period piece experiences in Lovecraft Country and They See Us, both of which also featured some insightful social commentary that Marvel were previously reported to be looking to explore with the Blade reboot.
By also having a new creative team leading Blade, it also explains why Marvel Studios ended up pushing the film from its November 3, 2023 release date to September 9, 2024, along with other delayed Phase 5 movies. This allows the script to be properly executed before they start production in Atlanta, which is expected to take place sometime in 2023. Prior to Tariq's departure, the Blade reboot had barely begun casting, as only Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre had boarded the project alongside Ali.
With extra time on its hands, Marvel Studios will also be able to round out its Blade cast as they get closer to principal photography in 2023. It also goes to show how imperative Blade still is for Phase 5 as they finally bring the iconic character into the MCU. Whether or not Blade will appear in other MCU projects before his solo film, similar to his voice cameo in Eternals, remain to be seen. However, with a new director and writer attached to the Blade reboot, the MCU is one step closer to finally getting the film off the ground.
Source: Deadline
