Marvel Studios continues to suffer from production issues after it was reported that Yann Demange exited his role as director for Blade, just two years after his involvement was announced. While this might be a stressful time for executives, especially since the last time Blade announced major setbacks, it led to the MCU‘s entire roster being pushed, Wesley Snipes, star of the 1998 Blade adaptation, seems to be relishing Marvel‘s ongoing struggles.
Snipes posted on X (formerly Twitter), where he took jabs towards Marvel Studios, first commenting “Lordy Lordy Lordy.” The actor asked the superhero juggernaut if they were still looking for that “secret sauce” and claimed that the “daywalkers make it look easy.” It’s important to note that Snipes has shown support for the project, especially when it was announced that Mahershala Ali would take on the role. In an interview with Uproxx, he showed support for the new MCU actor and that he has a “heck of a job on his hands.” So perhaps the actor is now reveling at Marvel‘s struggles when New Line Cinema was able to pull it off back in the day.
The first Blade movie first came out in 1998, and later released two more films in 2002 and 2004. It had a reported budget of $45 million, which is shocking since the MCU version has a reported budget of $100 million, which is apparently low. Regardless, the film generated over $131 million at the box office and received an average audience score of 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Blade’s Production Issues, Explained
When Kevin Feige announced Blade during Comic-Con 2022, it was originally scheduled to come out on November 3, 2023, and would be part of Phase 5, in between The Marvels and Ironheart. However, when it was announced that former director, Bassam Tariq stepped away from production, Marvel Studios announced new release dates for many of its projects, including Fantastic Four, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, and the upcoming Avengers films.
At the moment, only five names have been attached to the project. Ali is set to play Blade. Joining him include John West Jr, Delroy Lindo, Milan Ray, and Mia Goth. Blade has already made an off-screen appearance in the MCU. His voice was heard during the post-credit scene in 2021’s Eternals when Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) was about to wield the Ebony Blade.
Blade is scheduled to hit theaters on November 7, 2025. But due to the latest news, only time will tell if that date will change once more. Stay tuned for more updates.
via Collider