All the delays for Mahershala Ali reboot

Before “Iron Man” and “Thor,” before “Spider-Man” and “X-Men,” there was “Blade.” Starring Wesley Snipes as the dawning half-vampire Vampire Slayer, the film debuted in 1998 at a time when Marvel Comics had yet to experience a hit part film adaptation. The brandnew Layout Cinema production was a one-time disaster – grossing $131.2 million worldwide – which Snipes returned for two sequels, creating the company’s first true film franchise. If “Blade” had bombed, the Surprise Cinematic Universe would never have happened.

So when Surprise Studios announced in 2019 that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali was going to bring nature to the MCU, it seemed like a completely bad idea.

However, in the next five years, “Blade” has faced the COVID-19 pandemic and two major guild moves, suffered three loose occasion changes, lost two directors, and at least half the batch of screenwriters. Has been hired. The longest production process ever for a Disney superhero segment.

Unlike most residuals in the business, Surprise Studios is committed to producing every name it announces – in order to periodically hire the filmmaking workforce that created them, as was the case with “Blade”. Despite all the delays and setbacks, insiders say Surprise Rest is ambitious about getting the film in front of the cameras with Ali in the lead role.

Here’s a timeline of each of the main buildings from the winding street of the “Blade” to the movie theater.

July 20, 2019: Surprise Studios announces ‘Blade’ reboot

In the final moments of Kevin Feige’s blockbuster post-“Avengers: Endgame” presentation at San Diego Comedian-Con, Feige turned down Hall H’s lighting for a final hour to introduce a title treatment for “Blade” and the upcoming presentation. Dimmed down. Ali was wearing a baseball cap with the same symbol. Ali further shared that he pitched himself to Feige for the episode after he heard that Surprise was looking to reboot the “Blade” franchise. However at the time Feige announced Ali’s involvement, an incorrect director or screenwriter was attached to the project.

February 5, 2021: Stacey Osei-Kuffour tapped to write the script

Osei-Kuffour wrote on HBO’s “Watchmen” and earned an Emmy nomination for writing a Season 1 episode of Hulu’s “Penn15.”

July 19, 2021: Bassam Tariq indicators to direct

Tariq’s most high-profile film is 2020’s “Mogul Mowgli”, starring Riz Ahmed. He has also made several documentaries and short films, including “This Bird’s Walk,” “11/8/16,” “Red Mountain Choir,” “Wad,” “Mogambo” and “Ghosts of Sugar Land.”

November 5, 2021: Ali Makes His Debut Performance as Blade’s “Eternal” in Surprise — But It’s Just His Accent

Chloé Zhao After the film’s all-credits scene, Equipment Harrington’s personality, Dane Whitman, opens a historical realm containing the Ebony Blade, a cursed sword that has haunted the nation of Danes for generations. As Dane prepares to raise the blade, Ali is heard off camera uttering: “Are you ready for it, Mr. Whitman?”

Harington informed selection Even though he knew what Dane was being asked to do in that scene, he found out that Ali was announcing him as Blade only about three weeks before the film’s premiere. “Chloe messaged me saying that’s what they were doing,” Harington said. “I got really excited to hear this. He’s one of my favorite actors right now.” He added that he “didn’t know” whether a scene like Dane’s would appear in “Blade.”

“I’m assuming that’s the case, but who knows?”

November 19, 2021: Delroy Lindo joins Solid

The veteran actor (“Da 5 Bloods,” “The Harder They Fall,” “The Good Fight”) signed on to the film for an unseen role.

February 22, 2022: Aaron Pierre joins solid

Pierre, who achieved his outstanding performance in Barry Jenkins’ limited edition “The Underground Railroad”, signed on for an unseen role.

July 23, 2022: “Blades” get a legitimate free opportunity

Feige announced at San Diego Comedian-Con that “Blade” will be released in October and premiere on November 3, 2023.

September 27, 2022: Bassam Tariq steps down from the post of director

In a miraculous announcement, Tariq withdrew his name as the director of “Blade” almost two months before the film was set to begin shooting. “It’s an honor to work with the amazing people at Marvel,” he said in a comment. “We were able to put together a great cast and crew. Looking forward to seeing where the next director takes the film.

October 11, 2022: Opportunity extended to 2024

As part of a broader overhaul of its loose calendar, Surprise Studios moved “Blade” from November 3, 2023 to September 6, 2024.

November 21, 2022: Yann Demange joins production as director, and Michael Starbury joins as screenwriter

Demange began his directing career with TV productions such as “Dead Set” and “Top Boy,” and went on to direct the 2014 mystery “’71” and the 2018 crime drama “White Boy Rick.” He also directed the pilot of the HBO sitcom “Lovecraft Country”.

Starbury – who was once hired to write the Logos Ancient script for the film – wrote on such productions as “Colin in Black and White” and “When They See Us”.

February 14, 2023: Feige says production on “Blade” will begin in “10 weeks or so.”

In an interview with Leisure Weekly, Feige said that painting on “Blade” is “going well” and that “the cameras will be coming in, like, the next 10 weeks.”

April 12, 2023: Mia Goths unite

The actor, who had a breakout year in 2022 with “X” and “Pearl,” joins – you guessed it! – An invisible situation.

April 28, 2023: Nic Pizzolatto hints at writing the screenplay

Pizzolatto — who first worked with Ali on Season 3 of HBO’s “True Detective” — signed on as a screenwriter just days before the WGA clash began.

May 5, 2023: Pre-production of “Blade” stopped, I am sick about the writers clash

As Feige previously mentioned, production on the film was expected to begin in more or less a day.

June 13, 2023: Date reduced to 2025

Amid the writers’ ongoing conflict and actors’ attrition, Disney rescheduled film releases throughout its calendar, moving “Blade” from September 6, 2024 to February 14, 2025.

November 1, 2023: Michael Green joins as screenwriter

selection The report states that Feige hired the “Logan” screenwriter to start Undrafted after Ali became frustrated with older drafts, including one that was led by women and called Blade. was kept as the fourth control.

November 9, 2023: Surprise pushes “Blade” back once again

As part of a company-wide shuffle following the dual moves of writers and actors, “Blade” was moved from February 15, 2025 to November 7, 2025.

December 6, 2023: Ali says watching the film has given him “sincere encouragement”.

“We are working on it. That’s the best thing I can tell you,'” the actor told Leisure Weekly. “I am really encouraged by the direction of this project. We’ll come back to this relatively soon. …I’m honestly encouraged by where things stand and who’s on board and who’s taking the lead in writing the script and directing and everything else. So that’s the extent of what I can tell you.”

March 17, 2024: Aaron Pierre says he’s not in “Blades”

“There were talks initially,” the actor said. selection On the red carpet of the fifty-fifth NAACP Symbol Awards. “As the project evolved, I am no longer a part of it – attached.”

As is the case with almost all surprise casting, the studio never formally announced Pierre’s involvement.

June 12, 2024: Yann Demange exits as director, Eric Pearson joins as screenwriter

After almost two years taking over the directing reins, Demange quietly left the production, which was reported the following week.

Meanwhile, veteran surprise writer Eric Pearson (“The Fantastic Four,” “Black Widow,” “Thor: Ragnarok”) signed on to write the screenplay, making him no less than the sixth writer to pen the script. “X-Men ’97” with head scribbler Beau DeMaio. Hiring Pearson — internally open to being a better person who could take the script to final layout — might be the most promising sign that “Blades” will, after all, keep its pace in the sun.