One step forward, two steps back for Mahershala Ali’s Blade.
Yann Demange will no longer direct Blade, as reported by Deadline. Demange was tapped to replace Bassam Tariq in late 2022 after Tariq stepped down due to “continued shifts” in the schedule, as stated by a Marvel rep. Tariq stayed on the project as an executive producer.
Sources tell Deadline that Demange’s departure was an amicable decision between Marvel Studios and the White Boy Rick director.
Black Widow writer Eric Pearson is still attached for the screenplay.
As for Ali, he’s said to still be onboard, but the 50-year-old actor is clearly not going to let other opportunities pass him by in the process. According to Variety, the Oscar-winner has been in talks to star alongside Scarlett Johansson in a new Jurassic World film.
Three Wesley Snipes-starring installments of Blade came to theaters in 1998, 2002, and 2004. When Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the casting of Ali in 2019, he called the moment “a dream,” but it has been a nightmare ever since. Marvel fans are now taking inventory of everything that has transpired since the Blade reboot was revealed.
Below, catch a variety of Twitter reactions to Blade losing yet another director.
