Marvel loses director for highly anticipated Blade reboot
Not only was Blade officially announced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, but it was also promised that Mahershala Ali will become a vampire hunter following in the footsteps of Blade Trinity star Wesley Snipes. as will follow. However, despite the surprise announcement, it soon became clear that this was premature.
Things were quiet for several months after the Blade reboot was confirmed, until reports emerged that the search for directors and writers began in late 2020. Finally, after a nine-month search, the studio found its director in Bassam Tariq, an up-and-coming filmmaker who won praise for helming the 2020 film Mogul Mowgli starring Riz Ahmed.
Tariq specifically expressed his enthusiasm about working with writer Stacey Ossie-Kafour in a later interview. Disney’s official press release at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con also confirmed that filming for the film will begin in October, making it seem like Blade was finally becoming a reality in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Unfortunately, it may take even longer now that Marvel Studios may have to find someone other than Tariq to run the project.
Blade director departure
As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Bassem Tariq has abruptly stepped down as director of Marvel Studios’ Blade film. This news comes just a week before the filming for the MCU project started.
Marvel Studios issued the following statement upon Tariq’s departure:
“Due to frequent changes to our production schedule, Bassam is no longer stepping down as director of Blade, but will continue to be the film’s executive producer,” Marvel said in a statement to THR. “We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he has done, where that blade is.”
Tariq, who will still be credited as an executive producer on the film, shared the following words about his exit:
“It’s an honor to work with amazing people at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Curious to see where the next director takes the film.”
Production of Blade, which was due to begin this fall, has now come to a halt as Marvel Studios has reportedly entered “search mode” for a new director, according to THR.
This is not the first time Marvel Studios has lost a director during the development or production of a film. In 2014, writer-director Edgar Wright dropped out of Ant-Man in the months before its planned filming due to creative differences; Marvel replaced Wright with Peyton Reed, who produced a critical and box office success in 2015 and has been the custodian of the MCU’s Ant-Man trilogy ever since.
More recently, in January 2020, Scott Derrickson stepped down from directorial duties on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after he and producer Kevin Feige failed to keep track of directing the sequel. Renowned horror director Sam Raimi took over the reigns of Doctor Strange 2 from Derrickson,
redeveloped much of the sequel from the ground-up, and eventually released it in May 2022; The sequel was a financial hit, grossing over $900 million, but was not as well received by audiences as Derrickson’s first film, earning a lukewarm B+ CinemaScore with moviegoers.
It remains to be seen who Marvel chooses as his replacement Blade director, although he will be a filmmaker with more credits than Tariq, who Feige and co. We’re comfortable jumping into pre-production to start rolling out cameras as soon as possible to avoid any more unnecessary delays in production.
Blade is currently slated for release on November 3, 2023, although many fans expect this date to be postponed for at least a few months as Marvel Studios has to come up with a final script and assigned director. Feet meet.
