Loss of Bassam Tariq as director of Marvel’s “Blade” (Exclusive)

Mahershala Ali is starring in the production, which was preparing for fall filming.

 

Bassam Tariq will no longer be in charge of directing Marvel Studios’ Blade.

 

Blade, whose release date is Nov. 3, 2023, was preparing to start filming in Atlanta in November. The impact of Tariq’s departure on the start of production of the vampire action-thriller, which stars Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the lead role along with Delroy Lindo and veteran actor Aaron Pierre, is unknown.

 

Bassam is no longer moving forward as Blade’s director due to ongoing changes in our production schedule, but he will continue to serve as the movie’s executive producer, according to a statement from Marvel to THR. “We value Bassam’s talent and the effort he put in to make Blade what it is today.”

 

In his own statement, Tariq thanked Marvel, saying, “It’s been a pleasure working with the fantastic folks at Marvel. We were able to assemble a fantastic cast and crew. eager to see where the film is taken by the upcoming filmmaker.

 

At least once, if not twice, the start of production on Blade has been moved, and according to reports, the movie has through numerous rounds of screenplay revision. The show’s current writer is Beau DeMayo, who has previously contributed to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Witcher and its animated feature spinoff, as well as Marvel’s own Moon Knight. According to one source, the company is already looking for a new director.

 

Since the studio revealed the project amid considerable fanfare at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, Blade has been one of Marvel’s most eagerly awaited movies. Ali unexpectedly appeared at the conclusion of the Marvel panel and put on a baseball cap bearing the Blade emblem. Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, later revealed to THR that Ali had personally called him to show interest in taking on the role.

 

For The Tomb of Dracula No. 10 in 1973, Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan created the character Blade. He hunts vampires to exact revenge on his mother, who was murdered by a vampire as she gave birth to him. He is a half-mortal, half-immortal being. The role was previously portrayed by Wesley Snipes in a trilogy that was published in the early 2000s.

Riz Ahmed stars in the acclaimed rap drama Mogul Mowgli, which Tariq co-wrote and directed. Since the summer of 2021, he had been working on Blade, using an initial script written by Watchmen author Stacy Osei-Kuffour.

 

At least in part, Blade has already made his Marvel Cinematic Universe premiere. Ali made a surprise vocal appearance in the post-credits scene of the 2021 film Eternals, indicating that Marvel is getting ready to explore the MCU’s horror side. Marvel is preparing to broadcast its first horror-themed production, the Halloween special Werewolf By Night, which will air on Disney+ on October 7. At the same time, the filmmaker is leaving the company.