New Blade Details Emerge Ahead of Summer Filming Start
If all goes to plan, Marvel's Blade reboot is going to begin production sooner rather than later. According to the latest timelines, the Mahershala Ali-starring film is expected to begin production at some point later this summer. Signaling an imminent production start, the film now even has its own production company and working title to begin shooting principal photography under.
A production company named Standoffish Productions LLC was first formed in 2020, and a new report has linked the limited liability company directly to Blade. The latest comes from Cosmic Circus, which also says Blade will use Perfect Imprints as one of its working titles. Working titles are often used by companies to help insert another level of secrecy to projects, should the masses happen to come across the first or second unit filming in a somewhat public space. When it comes to different production companies, that's a common practice in Hollywood to separate multi-million dollar liabilities between the numerous projects each studio has in active development.
At one point, Blade was set to begin filming last year, but constantly shifting post-COVID schedules bumped it back to a 2022 production start. That film doesn't have a public release date or timeframe as of this writing, though a summer production schedule could place it in the November 2023 date Marvel Studios is currently sitting on. If Blade doesn't get that, the next date up would be on February 16, 2024.
"We spoke. The issue of him being cast wasn't between us, I'm cool with that," former Blade star Wesley Snipes previously shared with Yahoo!'s Kevin Polowy. "I don't walk around as Blade, so I'm not attached to the character like that. I feel no emotional loss, zero, and I'm happy that he's being recast and will more than likely do a great job."
He added, "Make sure you're in shape, man. Make sure you're in shape. Try not to get hurt, that's a biggie. The demands of an action movie is you've gotta be an elite athlete. And being well-conditioned to survive and to avoid injury. And enjoy it while it lasts."
Blade has yet to set a release date from Marvel.
What other characters would you like to see make up the MCU's new Midnight Suns team? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!