Mahershala Ali’s Blade was reportedly almost turned into a supporting character in his own movie.
According to a report from Variety, the narrative of the highly-anticipated Blade film at one point mainly focused on several women and had life lessons crammed into it. In this version of the script, Ali’s titular vampire was reportedly demoted to the fourth lead of the movie. This shocking story decision, along with significant departures and many delays, made Ali consider stepping down from the role of Blade.
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It has been public knowledge for a long time that Ali has been frustrated with the developmental process of Blade. After all, the movie has gone through at least five writers and two directors. Additionally, once the movie was finally set to begin filming in Summer 2023, production was forced to shut down due to the Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Given that Ali is such an in-demand talent in Hollywood, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reportedly convinced him to stay on the project by hiring Michael Green, who is most well-known for writing films such as Logan and Blade Runner 2049.
Reports that Ali has been frustrated with the Blade script go back to Sept. 2022, when industry insider Jeff Sneider claimed that the acclaimed actor believed the film’s story to be weak. In March 2023, Sneider once again reported on the behind-the-scenes setbacks that continuously plagued Blade’s pre-production process, revealing that Ali requested “script changes all the time” for several months.
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Blade’s constantly changing script is not the only problem which has delayed the long-awaited superhero movie. Also in Sept. 2022, it was revealed that Bassam Tariq, who was originally attached to direct the project, stepped down from Blade. “Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,” Marvel said in a statement at the time. In his own statement, Tariq said, “It’s been an honor working with the wonderful folks at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film.”
Amid the delays, Blade, which was once set for a Sept. 6, 2024 release date, is now expected to hit theaters on Feb. 14, 2025. Blade is just one of many upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to be delayed. This year’s Hollywood strikes, which triggered constantly changing production schedules at Marvel Studios, have also affected films such as Deadpool 3, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, and the next two Avengers installments.
Source: Variety
A new report reveals that the script for Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot at one point hardly even focused on Mahershala Ali’s titular character. Read More