Before “Iron Man” and “Thor”, before “Spider-Man” and “X-Men”, there was “Blade”. Starring Wesley Snipes as the titular half-vampire vampire slayer, the film debuted in 1998 at a time when Marvel comics had yet to enjoy a successful feature film adaptation. The New Line Cinema production was enough of a success – grossing $131.2 million worldwide – that Snipes returned for two sequels, establishing the company’s first-ever true film franchise. If “Blade” had bombed, the Marvel Cinematic Universe might never have happened.
So when Marvel Studios announced in 2019 that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali would be bringing the character to the MCU, it seemed like a no-brainer.
Five years later, however, “Blade” has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and two major guild strikes, faced three release date changes, lost two directors and hired at least half a -dozen screenwriters in what could be the longest development process ever. for Disney’s superhero division.
Unlike the rest of the industry, Marvel Studios commits to producing each announced title – sometimes well before hiring the production team to make them, as was the case with “Blade.” Despite all the delays and setbacks, insiders say Marvel remains enthusiastic about bringing the film in front of the cameras with Ali in the title role.
Here’s a timeline of every major development on “Blade’s” winding road to theaters.
July 20, 2019: Marvel Studios announces “Blade” reboot
In the final moments of Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige’s post-“Avengers: Endgame” presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, Feige dimmed the lights in Hall H one last time to debut a title treatment for “Blade “, then took out Ali is wearing a baseball cap with the same logo. Ali then shared that he approached Feige for the role after hearing that Marvel was looking to reboot the “Blade” franchise. But at the time Feige announced Ali’s involvement, no director or writer was attached to the project.
February 5, 2021: Stacy Osei-Kuffour selected to write the screenplay
Osei-Kuffour wrote on HBO’s “Watchmen” and earned an Emmy nomination for writing a Season 1 episode of Hulu’s “Pen15.”
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
July 19, 2021: Bassam Tariq signs to direct
Tariq’s most high-profile film is 2020’s “Mogul Mowgli,” starring Riz Ahmed. He has also directed a series of documentaries and short films, including “These Birds Walk”, “11/8/16”, “Red Mountain Choir”, “Wa’ad”, “Mogambo” and “Ghosts of Sugar Land” .
November 5, 2021: Ali gives his first performance as Blade in Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ – but that’s just his voice
In the end credits scene of Chloé Zhao’s film, Kit Harington’s character Dane Whitman opens an ancient box containing the Ebon Blade, a cursed sword that has haunted Dane’s family for generations. Just as Dane is about to pick up the blade, Ali’s voice is heard off-camera: “Sure, you ready for this, Mr. Whitman?”
Harington said. Variety that, although he knew what was being said to Dane at the time, he had learned that Ali was saying it as Blade only about three weeks before the film premiered. “Chloe texted me and said that’s what they were doing,” Harington said. “It really excited me to hear that. He’s one of my favorite actors right now. He added that he had “no idea” if the scene meant Dane would appear in “Blade.”
“I suppose it would, but who knows?
November 19, 2021: Delroy Lindo joins the cast
The veteran actor (“Da 5 Bloods,” “The Harder They Fall,” “The Good Fight”) has signed on to the film for an undisclosed role.
February 22, 2022: Aaron Pierre joins the cast
Pierre, who made his breakthrough in Barry Jenkins’ limited series “The Underground Railroad,” has signed on for an undisclosed role.
July 23, 2022: “Blade” receives an official release date
Feige announced at San Diego Comic-Con that filming on “Blade” would begin in October and premiere on November 3, 2023.
September 27, 2022: Bassam Tariq leaves his position as director
In a surprise announcement, Tariq stepped down as director of “Blade” approximately two months before the film began shooting. “It’s been an honor to work with the great people at Marvel,” he said in a statement. “We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Looking forward to seeing where the next director takes the film.
October 11, 2022: release date pushed back to 2024
As part of a broader change to its release schedule, Marvel Studios has pushed back “Blade” from November 3, 2023 to September 6, 2024.
Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for the Red Sea International Film Festival
November 21, 2022: Yann Demange joins the production as director and Michael Starrbury joins as screenwriter
Demange began his directing career in TV shows like “Dead Set” and “Top Boy,” and directed the thriller “’71” in 2014 and the crime drama “White Boy Rick” in 2018. He also directed the pilot for the HBO series “Lovecraft Country.”
Starrbury — who was hired to write an entirely new script for the film — has written on shows like “Colin in Black & White” and “When They See Us.”
February 14, 2023: Feige says ‘Blade’ will begin production in “about 10 weeks”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Feige said work on “Blade” is “going well” and that “cameras will be arriving in the next 10 weeks or so.”
April 12, 2023: Mia Goth joins the cast
The actor, who had a breakout year in 2022 with “X” and “Pearl,” has joined — you guessed it! – an undisclosed role.
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April 28, 2023: Nic Pizzolatto signs on to write the screenplay
Pizzolatto — who first worked with Ali on Season 3 of HBO’s “True Detective” — signed on as a writer just days before the WGA strike began.
May 5, 2023: pre-production of “Blade” halted due to a writers’ strike
As Feige noted earlier in the year, production on the film was set to begin in about a month.
June 13, 2023: release date pushed back to 2025
Amid the ongoing writers’ strike and impending cast strike, Disney has pushed back film releases across its entire schedule, moving “Blade” from September 6, 2024 to February 14, 2025.
November 1, 2023: Michael Green joins as screenwriter
Variety reported that Feige hired the screenwriter of “Logan” to start from scratch after Ali was dissatisfied with previous versions, including one that was female-led and had Blade as the fourth protagonist.
November 9, 2023: Marvel pushes back “Blade” again
As part of a company-wide shakeup following two strikes by writers and actors, “Blade” was pushed back from February 15, 2025 to November 7, 2025.
December 6, 2023: Ali says he is “sincerely encouraged” by the film’s progress
“We are working on it. That’s all I could tell you,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly. “I’m really encouraged by the direction of the project. We’ll get back to that relatively soon. …I’m genuinely encouraged by the situation, by who is on board and leading the way in terms of writing the script and directing and all that. So that’s all I can tell you.
March 17, 2024: Aaron Pierre says he is no longer in “Blade”
“At first there were conversations,” the actor said Variety on the red carpet at the 55th NAACP Image Awards. “As the project evolved, I was no longer part of it – I was attached to it.”
As is the case with almost all Marvel casting, the studio never officially announced Pierre’s involvement.
June 12, 2024: Yann Demange leaves the position of director, Eric Pearson joins the position of screenwriter
Nearly two years after taking the directing reins, Demange quietly left the production, which was reported a few weeks later.
Meanwhile, veteran Marvel scribe Eric Pearson (“Fantastic Four,” “Black Widow,” “Thor: Ragnarok”) has signed on to write the script, making him at least the sixth screenwriter to s tackle the storyline, including “X-Men”. 97″ head writer Beau DeMayo. The hiring of Pearson – seen internally as a closer capable of getting scripts across the finish line – could be the most promising sign yet that “Blade” will finally have its day under the sun.