Announced in 2019 and expected in 2025, this Marvel film seems to be getting bogged down with a string of bad news, potentially putting the entire project in jeopardy.
20 years after the last film of the iconic vampire hunter Blade, Marvel seems to be stalling to bring him back to the cinema. In 2022, the reboot lost a first director. Our colleagues at The Wrap recently reported that the film lost a second. Rather ominous signs for a production which is due to be released next year.
The return of Blade to the cinema, a fang in the foot of Marvel
In 1998, the first Blade film starring Wesley Snipes in the role of the charismatic half-human, half-vampire vampire hunter made a strong impression. It was followed by two films in 2002 and 2004, before returning to obscurity. Fast forward to 2019, where Marvel announced with great fanfare at San Diego Comic-Con the production of a new film for this much-loved character. This reboot was to be directed by Bassam Tariq, with Mahershala Ali in the lead role.
Three years later, he left the production, replaced by Yann Demange, a French-Algerian director. A first blow, even if the objective of the film was obviously to give him all the time necessary for him to correctly represent a character as contrasting as Blade. Two years later, it was the turn of a second director to leave the set. However, Marvel has still not seen fit to move the release of the film, still scheduled for November 7, 2025 in theaters.
This while its production has still not officially started. The other Marvel film expected in 2025, Fantastic Four, is already well advanced. The upcoming return of Eric Brooks to the cinema therefore seems rather poorly underway as it stands. Let’s hope that this will not be the case for its video game counterpart, developed by the talented studio Arkane Lyon.