Marvel’s Blade Underwent Major Changes That Nearly Drove Mahershala Ali Away from the Film
• Rebooting Blade into the MCU has challenged Marvel despite the character’s simple and badass persona.
• Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired to write the script but left due to creative and production complications, leading Director Yann Demange to be brought in with Michael Starrbury, Nic Pizzolatto, and Michael Green all taking a crack at the script.
• Mahershala Ali was set to lead as Daywalker but nearly walked away due to all the behind-the-scenes issues which included a story revolving around a female protagonist pushing Blade to a secondary role.
• Kevin Feige brought in “Logan” writer Michael Green to start fresh, and the plan is now to shoot “Blade” with $100 million budget, aiming for a February 14th release in 2025.
Rebooting Blade into the MCU has proven to be an unexpected challenge for Marvel. It’s hard to understand why, considering Blade’s simple and badass character.
He looks cool, wields cool weapons, and slays vampires. How complicated can it be? But Kevin Feige and his team continue to struggle with the project, even with the talented Mahershala Ali set to lead as the Daywalker. The project and Ali’s casting were announced in 2019, but it’s been a rough journey.
Initially, Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired to write with Bassam Tariq as the director. However, Tariq left due to production complications and creative differences.
Yann Demange was brought in as the new director, followed by a revolving door of writers, including Michael Starrbury, Nic Pizzolatto, and Michael Green, all taking a crack at the script.
Now, a report from Variety reveals that the behind-the-scenes issues have become so frustrating that Ali almost walked away from the movie completely.
According to Variety, “Blade” has faced multiple writer and director changes, as well as a shutdown six weeks before production.
Things got so bizarre that the script transformed into a female-led narrative with life lessons, pushing Blade to a secondary role. This was a ridiculous idea, considering the star power of Ali. The problems escalated to the point where Ali was ready to quit, forcing Kevin Feige to bring in “Logan” writer Michael Green to start fresh.
But why is it so difficult for Marvel to get “Blade” right? The character has already found success on screen with Wesley Snipes in 1998’s “Blade,” followed by Guillermo del Toro’s enjoyable “Blade II” and the less-impressive “Blade: Trinity.”
The blueprint is there, yet Marvel seems to be struggling. They have previously dabbled in supernatural themes with “Werewolf By Night,” so introducing Blade should not be challenging. My advice: keep it simple.
Present Blade as a badass vampire hunter and take it from there. It doesn’t have to be rocket science, folks.
Currently, the plan is to shoot “Blade” with a budget of $100 million, which is lower than usual for Marvel.
If everything goes as planned, “Blade” will return to the big screen on February 14, 2025.