In the massive report about the current state of Marvel, recently run by Variety, one of the most damning stories to come from it was the treatment of Mahershala Ali and the upcoming Blade film.
Marvel Studios is reportedly struggling with many issues behind the scenes, including rushed VFX, actors getting arrested, and a general lack of direction. Sadly, one of the other issues comes down to scripts, and one of the biggest offenders is Blade.
As Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige goes on a rampage and pulls the plug on writings and projects that aren’t working, he focuses on Blade and the struggles of the studio to land on a script.
Per the report, the project has gone through at least five writers, two directors, and a shutdown six weeks before production. During the hunt for the proper script, one project was reportedly so bad that Marhershala Ali almost walked away. Sources claim the film almost “morphed into a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons,” while Blade was “relegated to the fourth lead.”
It’s worth noting that one of the screenwriters on Blade, Michael Starburry, stated in a now deleted tweet that: “I worked on a draft of this before the strike. Never saw a version where Blade was 4th lead or it was a “narrative led by women and filled with life lessons” but I suppose a lot could have happened since I had anything to do with it. He was in 99% of the scripts I was a part of.”
To get back to basics, Marvel Studios is bringing in Logan and Blade Runner 2049 writer Michael Green to pen the script and bring the budget to under $100 million.
SEE ALSO: Blade at 25: Revisiting the Marvel Action-Horror Classic
Yann Demange (White Boy Rick) will direct Blade, which stars Mahershala Ali, Delroy Lindo, Aaron Pierre, and Mia Goth. The film was set for release on September 6th, 2024, but it seems incredibly unlikely it will make that date.
