Marvel's Seemingly Cursed Blade Movie Loses Its Director

Another day, another setback for Marvel's long-awaited "Blade" reboot. The project was first announced a handful of years ago during the studio's big Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 when Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali came out on stage, revealing he would be playing the character in a new film. Here we are, five years later and nothing has materialized. Now, the project has suffered another major setback as director Yann Demange has departed the film, per The Wrap.

Demange's departure is being framed as an amicable parting of ways. The filmmaker behind films like "White Boy Rick" and "'71" was first announced as the director of "Blade" in 2022, taking over for Bassam Tariq ("Mogul Mowgli"). All eyes now turn to who will be chosen to fill the empty director's chair. If Marvel Studios and Disney intend to keep the film's current November 2025 release date, they will likely need to hire someone in a hurry. Then again, it might make more sense for them to kick the can even further down the road at this point.

Recently, Disney confirmed that it intended to release fewer Marvel movies and TV shows in any given year to avoid audience burnout. As of right now, "Captain America: Brave New World," "Thunderbolts," and "Fantastic Four" are also on the calendar for 2025. If "Blade" holds its current date, that would mean four MCU films would arrive next year. It seems unlikely that's going to be the case, and the most likely candidate to be pushed to 2026 or beyond at this point is "Blade."

This is just the latest in a long series of setbacks this project has faced ever since Ali was announced to take over the mantle. Wesley Snipes famously portrayed the character in a series of "Blade" films in the late '90s and early 2000s that helped establish Marvel as a viable theatrical brand. For whatever reason, rebooting this franchise has been a seemingly impossible task for Kevin Feige and Co. at Marvel Studios.

The film has now lost two different directors in Tariq and Demange, with an army of writers coming and going over the years as well. Stacy Osei-Kuffour ("Watchmen") was the project's original writer. Michael Starrbury ("When They See Us") was set to pen a version of the script when Demange first came aboard, with Nic Pizzolotto ("True Detective") coming in to do a rewrite last year. He has since departed the project as well. Veteran Marvel writer Eric Pearson, who recently crafted the script for the upcoming "Fantastic Four," is reportedly working on the "Blade" script from Michael Starrbury's previous draft.

We know that things have been tumultuous, with reports surfacing last year that Ali nearly left the project behind due to the constant changes. To that end, the actor seems to be tired of waiting, as he recently signed on to star in the new "Jurassic World" film, which is gearing up to begin production as we speak. Delroy Lindo ("Da 5 Bloods") and Mia Goth ("Pearl") are also attached to star alongside Ali. Whether or not the change in directors impacts their casting is up in the air as well. Whatever the case, this movie continues to feel downright cursed.

"Blade" is currently set to hit theaters on November 7, 2025.