As everyone surely knows by now, Marvel’s “Blade” recently lost its director, Yann Demange, known for the British war thriller “’71” and “Lovecraft Country.” And yes, some movies take longer than others to make; that’s just Hollywood, but fans are getting impatient, and some are wondering if the project is cursed. Worse, “Blade” star Mahershala Ali’s attorney, Shelby Weiser, added a little fuel to the fire late last week when she was quoted about the film’s delays. “That deal was [made] in 2019, and they still haven’t shot it, which is pretty much the craziest thing in my professional experience,” she told THR, referencing the fact that the movie was announced at Comic-Con in the summer of 2019 and Ali’s deal was made around the same time. Hell, even former “Blade” actor Wesley Snipes has seemingly poked fun at Marvel this weekend about the film’s difficulties on social media.
READ MORE: Marvel Loses ‘Blade’ Director Yann Demange
So, is “Blade” in trouble? It depends on your perspective. For one, Marvel execs have said they’re taking their time and trying to get “Blade” done right, not fast, which is what everyone wants to hear, sure. But there have been some complications over its lifespan beyond two directors leaving the project (and one, Bassam Tariq, just two months before the film was scheduled to shoot in 2022).
There have been around six writers on “Blade” at least, and one factor on some of the writing overhauls that no one seems to really be considering is Ryan Coogler’s competing vampire pic starring “Black Panther” actor Michel B. Jordan. For one, Coogler’s film is a period vampire film said to be involving the KKK and set in the 1800s. That’s reportedly in the same-ish era of the original “Blade” script, which was also going to be a period movie. Coogler’s film is definitely beating “Blade” to the punch and arrives in March 2025, and there’s speculation that part of the “Blade” writing overhauls was because of this—Marvel knew they were going to be beaten with the release date with a similar project and then had to rethink the project in order to stand out and differentiate themselves. Additionally, Mahershala Ali is rumored to be something of a bottleneck too, apparently not loving or approving many of the scripts (there are said to be millions of dollars of unused sets from the original version of “Blade” from its period days that are sitting around collecting dust, won’t be used, and will help that film’s budget balloon even if they keep it down).
READ MORE: ‘Blade’ Could Be Delayed Until 2026 & ‘Midnight Sons’ Rumored To Be In MCU Development
“Blade” is currently set for a November 2025 release date, but with Marvel scaling back to two or three films a year, it’s most certainly not coming out till 2026 at the earliest. A new version of “Blade” is in the works, and it could be connected to the rumored “Midnight Sons” movie that Michael Green is reportedly writing (he also wrote the second-last version of “Blade”; the speculation is that the film could be announced at Comic-Con this summer). “Blade” is rumored to shoot this fall and finally has a script that people like, but well, there’s one rub: it needs a director.
Who will step in soon enough to do the pre-production work and get a fall shoot ready? And will that director also be announced at Comic-Con? It seems like a logical plan, but nothing’s for sure. Regardless, here are five viable picks who could take on the gig.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall FallahComing strongly off “Bad Boys: Ride Or Die” and having already worked within the Marvel machinery as filmmakers on the “Ms. Marvel” series, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (the scrapped “Batgirl” movie) clearly have an affinity for superheroes and Marvel. In fact, they’ve already expressed interest in directing a “Blade” movie. In a September 2023 Playlist interview with the Moroccan/Belgian filmmakers, the duo said, “We love ‘Blade.’ Our buddy Yann Demange is now doing ‘Blade.’ If Yann doesn’t want to do the second movie, we’re still there. And ‘Deadpool’— we’re always there for ‘Deadpool.’ If there’s a fourth one, we’re also game, so if they call us, we’re good.” “Bad Boys: Rise Or Die” has already grossed $215 million at the global box office after two weeks, has seemingly re-jumpstarted Will Smith’s career, and has been called one of the biggest hits of the summer so far. This enthusiastic pair seems like a viable choice and could already be at the top of the list.
F. Gary GrayThe issue with having a finished script that everyone loves with no director attached is—not many filmmakers want to step into that situation, frankly. Most filmmakers like to develop scripts with writers and put their stamp on them. But there are more journey-person-like filmmakers out there who sometimes don’t have so many qualms about just taking on a gig, executing, and knocking it out of the park. One of those viable names might be F. Gary Gray: the filmmaker behind projects like “Men in Black: International,” “The Fate of the Furious,” and “Straight Outta Compton.” In fact, F. Gary Gray was once in the mix to direct “Captain America: The Winter Solider” before the Russo Brothers eventually got the gig, rumored to have come very close to getting the job. So, he’s obviously met with the Kevin Feige’s of the world, knows the Marvel brass, and with nothing on deck, it seems (other than projects in development, one of which was supposed to shoot in 2021 but never happened), perhaps he could jump in and do the job.
Benson & MoorheadFor many of the same reasons that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are viable contenders, so are Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead: Marvel likes to do repeat business with filmmakers they like, and Benson and Moorhead—originally lo-fi sci-fi/horror filmmakers—have practically become in-house Marvel directors at this point. Benson and Moorehead have directed on “Moon Knight” and essentially became the lead directors on “Loki” season 2—they directed the pivotal pilot episode, four of six episodes, and the all-important finale. They have also been hired as the new lead directors on the revamped “Daredevil: Born Again” Marvel series. The duo have worked on almost as many Marvel projects as the Russo Brothers, who directed four Marvel features. Let’s face it: Benson & Moorehead will be directing a Marvel feature soon enough, and hell, don’t be surprised if they’re up for one of the upcoming “Avengers” movies, too. But they know the Marvel system is essentially already in-house, and, if interested, could easily become strong contenders for “Blade” given their affinities for superheroes and horror.
Chad StahelskiLet’s keep this simple. Given the current “Blade” timeline, especially if the rumors of a fall shoot are true, then “John Wick” director Chad Stahelski can’t direct the “Blade” movie. Last we all heard, Stahelski planned to shoot his new “Highlander” movie with Henry Cavill in Q1 of 2025 for a 2026 release date. That essentially put him totally out of the running for directing “Blade”—unless he were to suddenly abandon the film, which seems unrealistic given it’s a Lionsgate film and that company gave Stahelski all the keys to the “John Wick” franchise and have doubled down in the Chad Stahelski business recently. But maybe one day for a sequel? Because Stahelski has definitely expressed interest. “Of all the things out there, I would take a swing at ‘Blade’ in a second,” he said in January of this year. “That’s one that gets under my skin; I’m like, ‘I would take a swing at that.” Stahelski admitted he talked to Marvel about “Blade” already and suggested maybe, down the road, he could take a swing at “Blade.“They’ve got a great thing going, but if that thing doesn’t work out for them in five years from now, I’d still be like, ‘yeah… “Maybe on the fourth ‘Blade’ reboot,” he quipped, “maybe I can pull back Wesley [Snipes]” (and hey, Snipes is rumored to make a multiversal return, though on Twitter, he seemed to be totally surprised about the rumors when they first broke).
Dee ReesMore of an indie arthouse director who develops her own projects, “Pariah” and “Mubound,” at least on the surface, filmmaker Dee Rees has in recent years been taking broader projects, perhaps trying to position herself as more of a commercial filmmaker. 2020’s “The Last Thing He Wanted” political thriller with Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck seems to have been from that ilk, and she’s really stretched out into television to expand her creative palate. Reese directed two episodes of the thrilling WWII series, “Master Of Air,” and directed on shows like “Space Force” and the sci-fi Philip K. Dick series, “Electric Dreams.” She’s clearly moved on from just being an indie filmmaker and has the chops, so if interested, she could be another viable contender.
Other options: Nia DaCosta obviously already knows horror and Marvel, having directed “The Marvels,” but her experience on that film did sound a little difficult, the narrative on it wasn’t great in the end, given its box office and she seems to be moving full steam ahead on the second “28 Years Later” movie regardless. Rachel Morrison feels like a name that could possibly be a contender, too. The director of cinematography on Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” (and Dee Reese’s “Mudbound”), Morrison also made the leap into directing. Her feature-length debut “Flint Strong” (written by Barry Jenkins) comes out this summer, and she’s also done a lot of good TV work, directing episodes of “The Mandalorian,” “American Crime Story,” “Hightown” and “Quantico.” Another director who doesn’t seem to mind stepping into projects without having to write on them? “Doctor Strange And The Multiverse of Madness” filmmaker Sam Raimi seems flexible enough that it looks like he’ll probably do something again with Marvel someday; it just depends on what.
“Blade” currently has a release date of November 7, 2025. More of a viable option at this point is likely the TBD placeholder of November 6, 2026, but again, Marvel seems to be moving directly away from four films a year (and “Avengers 5” and “Spider-Man 4” and “Shang Chi 2” are rumored to be moving faster), so who knows. Maybe all will be revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 in July or D23 in August.