With “Blade” production stopped at the moment, Marvel has decided to shift several release dates for upcoming films on the calendar…
Marvel Studios has paused production on the upcoming “Blade” film with Oscar winner Mahershala Ali set to star as the popular vampire hunter with the release date for the movie now also pushed back.
The news about production delays comes just weeks after Marvel Studios parted ways with director Bassam Tariq. Rumors have been swirling about problems with the script among other issues that ultimately forced Marvel to shut down the film, which was supposed to start full production in November.
There’s no word yet on when a new director will be hired or if the script will be reworked before the movie starts up production again. As of now, plans are to hopefully restart production in early 2023 but nothing is certain yet until a new director is hired.
Initially, “Blade” was set for release in 2023 but these production delays have forced Disney to push back the film almost an entire year, which in turn has caused a dramatic shift for many other movies slated for release from Marvel Studios.
Here’s a list of films from Marvel Studios that are being pushed back with new dates attached:
“Blade”: Moved from November 23, 2023 to September 6, 2024
“Deadpool 3”: Moved from September 6, 2024 to November 8, 2024
“Fantastic 4”: Moved from November 8, 2024 to February 14, 2025
“Avengers: Secret Wars”: Moved from November 7, 2025 to May 1, 2026
“Blade” has been one of the most highly anticipated films on the upcoming slate of Marvel releases after Ali was announced as the star of the film at San Diego Comic Con 2019. Of course, Wesley Snipes starred in three separate “Blade” films in the early 2000’s before Marvel Studios was a juggernaut in the industry that was constantly creating billion dollar franchise films.
The character itself originated in Marvel Comics back in 1973 after Eric Brooks’ mother was bitten by a vampire when she was giving birth to him. He ended up taking on some of the powers related to vampires but not all of the weaknesses because he didn’t undergo a full transformation from a bite. As a result, Eric is transformed into Blade — a vampire hunter who can walk in the daylight yet still ages at a faster rate than the immortal creatures he seeks to destroy.
Ali technically made his first appearance as Blade as a voiceover during the post credits scene to the film “The Eternals” where he spoke to Kit Harington’s character Dane Whitman.
For now, Ali will have to wait a little while longer before he finally gets back to business slaying vampires as “Blade” awaits a new director to be hired.
