Marvel's Blade Reboot Reveals New Director and Writer

Mahershala Ali's Blade reboot has found its next helmer. Weeks after Bassam Tariq parted the project over creative differences, Marvel Studios has hired Yann Demange to direct the film. Furthermore, the latest reports (via Deadline) suggest the movie now his what's believed to be its third writer with Michael Starrbury being brought in to write the latest iteration of a script. The first draft was written by Watchmen scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who was reportedly replaced by Moon Knight alumnus Beau DeMayo.

"Blade's been a beautiful ride," Tariq wrote after departing the project. "At this moment, I'm filled with love and gratitude toward the folks at Marvel as well [as] the incredible crew and cast we assembled. I'm eager to see how the next director builds on the foundation we've set."

Demange has directed the Jack O'Connell and Ben Mendelsohn-starring 71 before his breakout gig directing Matthew McConaughey in White Boy Rick. The filmmaker also has Lovecraft Country credits on his resume. Starrbury's claim to fame came as writer on When They See Us.

The film has suffered plenty of setbacks, including a year-long delay earlier this fall. The project was initially set to begin principal photography in October before the shifts behind the lens changed things up. Now, the film isn't expected to begin production until later next year with a fall 2024 release date.

What is the Blade reboot going to be about?

Mahershala Ali's fan-favorite half-vampire appeared in the post-credits scene to Eternals in voice only, teasing a crossover with Kit Harington's Dane Whitman/Black Knight.

"[Blade] was [part of the scene] for reasons hopefully that would become apparent as you see more things, but [Mahershal Ali] wasn't there on the day," Eternals producer Nate Moore previously told us. "And we talked about two versions of that, one where we would cut to him and one where we wouldn't. 'How textual do you want it to be?' And again, it was more just for the fun of it, to tease it a little bit, to hear the voice and not see the man. He was game to do it. Because the Ebony Blade, the characteristics of the Ebony Blade are not dissimilar to some degree to vampirism and we think that's an interesting kind of thing to play with. So, we kind of knew that was on the table."

Blade is set for release on September 6, 2024.

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!