Marvel paused the production of its upcoming Blade series, due to losing its intended director.
So, just the other day Keanu Reeves dropped out of Leonardo DiCaprio's high-profile series, and now another high profile movie loses its director? What's going on? I hate this, especially since both projects are something I'm really looking forward to - particularly Blade finally making a comeback, which now will probably be delayed well beyond 2023.
Production of Blade Series Paused
Marvel has officially shut down the Blade production temporarily, due to director Bassam Tariq leaving the project. Why the director left is unclear, but there have been plenty rumors of rewrites and Mahershala Ali being frustrated with the 90-page script only featuring two action sequences.
In the wake of the issues, Tariq has now quit his directing duties, due to 'scheduling conflicts', which could either be true or just the copy-paste excuse used by studios to avoid bad press. The Blade movie was supposed to be released in 2023, but will now have to be pushed into 2024, where it could still be a part of Phase 5 as planned. In any case, this delay is having a ripple effect on other MCU movies.
With the MCU experiencing a drop in quality as it is, this is terrible news. It used to be that most movies were planned out and ready years before being shot, since they were all working towards Avengers Endgame. The fact that Blade is getting a substantial rewrite now, is a testament to how poorly planned the MCU is these days.