Today, Variety dropped a bombshell expose on the current state of Marvel Studios following the WGA writer strike this past summer. Most of the piece has been previously rumored, including how top brass at the studio has considered moving away from star Jonathan Majors as Kang because of his upcoming court cases. The report also leads credence to the online rumor revolving around Blade. The film has already gone through multiple drafts, and two directors (Yann Demange & Bassam Tariq) have been attached.
The report mentions that star Mahershala Ali has seriously considered stepping away from the role since the studio couldn’t get the script right. After he was announced back at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. Initially, Stacy Osei-Kuffour’s script included very lackluster and kid-friendly action scenes. Michael Starrbury came in and made a page-1 rewrite that would have basically made Blade a minor character in his own film alongside Mia Goth as Lilith (though the writer has denied this). Nic Pizzolatto also came in to make tweaks to the script. Now, Kevin Feige has turned to Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Green to give the film yet again a page-1 rewrite. Green is best known for writing blockbusters Logan and Blade Runner 2049. The studio also wants to keep the budget under $100 million, making it the smallest film to date. Production has been pushed back multiple times and is halted due to the ongoing SAG actors strike until 2024.
Blade has no set release date