Marvel’s Blade reboot has hit a figurative wall, starting from scratch again with the script and losing director Bassim Tariq. However, despite all these setbacks, lead actor Mahershala Ali will be staying on and helping with the film’s new direction.
It’s not yet known how involved Ali will be with the movie now that the studio needs a new director. Still, if the acclaimed actor is staying after all these issues, some creative freedom is far from a bad thing.
Mahershala Ali is still Blade
According to Slash Film, Mahershala Ali is “fully on board” with the MCU reboot of Blade and its new direction. The lead actor will have a say in the film’s new direction and rewrites might be done at his behest.
Continuing on, the report also says that Blade will begin pre-production in early 2023, presumably to find a new director. Due to all of these setbacks, don’t expect to see Blade listed in any of the Marvel Phases anytime soon.
Fans will remember a similar situation with Marvel when Edgar Wright left Ant-Man due to creative frustrations with the studio. Unlike Blade, however, Ant-Man still had most of the script done and the rewrites didn’t cause a reset on pre-production.
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What happens to the old director?
Similar to the Edgar Wright situation in Ant-Man, Bassim Tariq will get a producer credit in the final product’s release. It seems that they will be using some of Tariq’s ideas in the final release of Blade, like the Ant-Man situation.
"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. We appreciate Bassam's talent and all the work he's done getting 'Blade' to where it is,” Marvel told THR.
Mahershala Ali made his Blade “debut” as a voice that spoke to Kit Harrington’s Black Knight during the Eternals post-credits. Don’t expect a release date for this movie anytime soon.
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