Highlights
- Turmoil within Marvel Studios has cast doubt on the future of the Blade movie and other projects, with issues ranging from changes in directors and writers to script problems.
- Lead actor Mahershala Ali considered leaving the Blade project due to the script issues, prompting Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige to hire Logan writer Michael Green to rebuild the story and convince Ali to stay.
- The problems with Blade extend beyond its script issues, with a reported budget of under $100 million and the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors, who plays Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, adding to the studio's challenges. Marvel faces the task of tidying up its cinematic ventures to maintain its industry dominance.
Fans who have been holding out hope for updates on the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Blade movie may want to begin heavily tempering their expectations. Reports of turmoil within Marvel Studios indicate things are more dire than previously expected, and not just for Blade.
Even before the WGA writers' strike contributed to a production snag for Blade, it seems there have been issues plaguing the project for quite some time. Unfortunately, those issues remain to this day and have reportedly gotten worse. Between grinding through directors and writers like a buffet in mid-April and numerous changes to the movie's entire premise, it's a wonder that Blade remains in Marvel Studios' upcoming release slate. But one instance, in particular, may have catalyzed the studio to finally put its nose to the grindstone and figure things out.
Variety reports that script issues for Blade had recently gotten so turbulent that the film's highly-anticipated lead, Mahershala Ali, was even considering leaving the project. As a result, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige hired Logan writer Michael Green to rebuild the whole story from the ground up. The hope is that the Oscar-nominated writer will not only reinvigorate the project but convince the Oscar-winning Ali to remain.
The problems with Blade have been evident for years, and there may be more on the way, even with its new focus. Now reportedly slated for a 2025 release, Variety also reports that its budget will be under $100 million. While not a number to sneeze at for most regular folks, those numbers are far below what most would expect from a Marvel Studios movie these days. The thing is, if Blade was the studio's only substantial problem, it might be easier to wrangle. But there's plenty else going on below this particular hood.
Perhaps the most glaring elephant in the room is Jonathan Majors as Kang. Shortly after the character had been set up as the big bad for Marvel Studios' foreseeable future, several credible abuse accusations came out about Majors himself. This culminated in a bit of a panic because while the actor was dropped from many projects, his presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was already mostly set in stone due to having previously filmed plenty of appearances. This includes Loki season 2, which prompted one source for Variety to comment unfavorably on the situation.
"Marvel is truly f****d with the whole Kang angle, and they haven't had an opportunity to rewrite until very recently [because of the WGA strike]. But I don't see a path to how they move forward with him."
As desperate as things may seem, this is still Marvel. Despite underwhelming projections, they still know how to hype things up, like their tease of an X-Men connection in The Marvels and even a rumored plan to bring back the original Avengers (yes, even them). But between Majors and Blade, they still need to do a lot of cinematic tidying up if they want to remain the media juggernaut they've become.
Blade is currently shooting for a tentative release in 2025.
Source: Variety
