Mahershala Ali Was Ready to Exit Blade Over Script Issues

Summary

• The upcoming Blade movie has faced numerous challenges, including conflicts with the script and changes in the production team, which have delayed its shooting and release date.
• Mahershala Ali, who will play Blade, almost abandoned the project due to creative differences with the various teams involved. Kevin Feige called in writer Michael Green to start a new script from scratch.
• Blade is reported to have a budget of less than $100 million, which is significantly lower than the average Marvel movie. However, this could work in the film’s favor, allowing it to focus on violence and character development similar to the success of Deadpool.

Marvel Studios is in crisis, like many Hollywood studios, and the upcoming Blade movie is one of many sticking points for the company. Now in a scathing new report, it has been revealed that the movie has been close to disaster on a number of occasions, even before cameras have started rolling.

The MCU reboot of Blade was originally announced back in 2019, and at the time, the fandom went wild to discover that two-time Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali was going to take on the role originally portrayed on the big screen by Wesley Snipes. The Moonlight and Green Book star had some tough shoes to fill, but given Ali’s celebrated career, confidence in what the actor could achieve was absolute.

Unfortunately, since that moment, the project has gone through several changes, mainly due to the actor’s conflicts with the script and many changes to the production team. It seems that this is something not yet fully resolved, and that could affect the already delayed shooting and subsequent release date of the project, which has been modified several times and is currently set for February 14, 2025.

According to Variety, Ali was very close to abandoning the project due to these creative differences he has had with the several teams that went through the film, which includes at least five different writers and two directors. According to the outlet’s sources, Kevin Feige called Oscar-nominated writer Michael Green (Logan) to write a new script from scratch. In addition, the studio is looking to make the film with a budget of less than $100 million, which would be well below the cost of your average Marvel movie.

Related: Marvel Has Discussed Bringing Back Original Avengers Cast Including Iron Man & Black Widow

Blade Being a Moderate Budget Movie Isn’t Necessarily a Bad Thing

Marvel Studios

Although Marvel Studios usually spends a large amount of money on its films and series, mainly due to the costs of visual effects, the salaries of its big stars and vast marketing campaigns, there are titles that do not require such a high cost and Blade could be one of them.

Beyond the payment that Ali will receive, which will surely be one of the biggest expenses the movie will face, the three original Blade films had budgets of $45, $55 million and $65 million. It was a different time, of course but, for example, 2016’s Deadpool had a budget of only $58 million dollars and managed to become a huge hit and was highly praised by both fans and critics. Blade could take a lot of elements from B horror movies and still look amazing, by putting the main focus on violence and character development like Ryan Reynolds’ first full outing as Wade Wilson did, saving a lot of money for Marvel Studios.

Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan in 1973, Eric Brooks aka Blade first appeared in The Tomb of Dracula #10. Blade is a vampire hunter whose main goal is to rid the world of bloodsuckers, using his incredible skills.

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