Blade: Wesley Snipes Addresses Marvel Studios Behind-the-Scenes Issues

Wesley Snipes tweeted about Blade shortly after the MCU movie lost another director.

By Jamie Jirak

The road to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Blade has been a rocky one. The project was first announced five years ago with Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali set to star as the titular hero. Bassam Tariq was originally slated to direct Blade with Stacy Osei-Kuffour penning the script, but they exited two months before production was originally supposed to start. Yann Demange then stepped in as director while Michael Green was hired as screenwriter, but it was announced earlier this week that Demange had also left the project. Since the news broke, people have had a lot to say about the movie's ongoing struggles, including Wesley Snipes, who played Blade in three films between 1998 and 2004.

"Blade, lordylordylordy 👀 folks still lookin for the secret sauce, ridin snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough. Daywalkers make it look easy, don't they? 😊 #DaywalkerKlique #Blade #Marvel," Snipes tweeted. You can view his post below:

Mahershala Ali's Lawyer Reacts To Blade's Delays:

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(Photo:

Is Mahershala Ali still starring in Blade?

- JC Olivera/FilmMagic, Marvel Studios)

This week, Ali's representation called Blade's shooting delayed the "craziest thing" she's seen in her career. The Hollywood Reporter spoke to lawyer Shelby Weiser for a larger piece about representing massive stars like Ali. She says that she can't believe that they haven't begun filming Blade yet. 

"That deal was in 2019, and they still haven't shot it, which is pretty much the craziest thing in my professional experience," Weiser told the trade.

Late last year, Ali sounded encouraged by the direction of the project. However, a whole lot has changed since then. "We're working on it. That's the best I could tell you," the actor said in a chat with Entertainment Weekly. "I'm really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we'll be back at it relatively soon."

While Ali is still attached to the project, he's also in production on Jurassic World 4, so it's unlikely Blade will film any time soon even if they find a new director ASAP. 

What MCU Movie Is Coming Out This Year?

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Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine

- ScreenX)

The only MCU film slated for 2024 is Deadpool & Wolverine. The threequel was helmed by Shawn Levy from a script written by Bob's Burgers' Wendy Molyneaux and Lizzie Molyneaux-Loeglin, with Deadpool and Deadpool 2 writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick reportedly also returning to contribute to the script. Not much is known about the script, but there has been a lot of speculation and exciting teases. 

In addition to Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Deadpool 3 will also star Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapičić as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, and Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen. While speaking with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Levy addressed the many wild rumors surrounding the film and talked about the movie's connection to the greater MCU. 

"I'm so wary of giving anything away because I've learned the hard way that even with a few titles – like any Marvel title – everything and anything you say can lead to not only rumors but misinformation. I'll just say this: It's very much part of the MCU, what a privilege, what a wealth of resources and knowledge."

Deadpool & Wolverine is scheduled to be released on July 26th. Stay tuned for more updates about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

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