Marvel’s vampire action movie Blade has lost its director in a shocking change of events. Bassam Tariq will continue on board as executive producer, although it is unclear how his resignation would affect the film’s scheduled release date and Mahershala Ali’s participation. Marvel has announced Tariq’s departure from the film in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. As Marvel said in a statement, “because of continuing alterations in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving ahead as director of Blade.” It’s because of Bassam’s skill and dedication that Blade has become what it is today.
In a follow-up statement, Tariq confirmed his resignation, thanked Marvel for the opportunity, and offered best wishes to whoever takes up the director’s chair for Mogul Mowgli. It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with the talented people at Marvel. The cast and crew we assembled were incredible. Tariq expressed excitement about the film’s future creative direction. It has been reported that Marvel is actively searching for a new director.
No one knows how Tariq’s exit as director will affect the making of the film.
Ali made an unannounced cameo at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con while sporting a baseball cap emblazoned with the Blade insignia, and the project was officially unveiled during a Marvel panel. Originally scheduled for a November 3, 2023 release, filming is planned to commence in Atlanta in October/November. Recent reports indicate that this time frame has not yet been set. The production of Blade, which has already undergone many rounds of screenplay rewrites, has undergone yet another upheaval with Tariq’s departure as director.
The current writer, Beau DeMayo, has previously worked on The Witcher and Star Trek: Strange New World in addition to Marvel’s Moon Knight. Tariq worked off of an early draught by Stacy Osei-Kuffour in 2021, but DeMayo took over writing duties at that point. Casting announcements haven’t changed anything: Ali will still play Blade in the movie, alongside Delroy Lindo (The Good Fight) and Aaron Pierre (Old). After Marv Wolfman’s original creation of the half-mortal, half-immortal vampire hunter, Blade, the plot will continue in this direction.
Blade made his debut in 1973’s The Tomb of Dracula No. 10, written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Gene Colan. Blade, a role originated by Wesley Snipes in a trilogy released in the early 2000s, follows a hunter out to get revenge for the death of his pregnant mother at the hands of a vampire. Additionally, Ali’s portrayal of this character was heard at the conclusion of Marvel’s Eternals in a voiceover cameo during the film’s post-credits sequence. The release date of November 3, 2023, for Blade, remains unchanged.