Blade Director Bassam Tariq LEAVES Marvel Film With Mahershala Ali Just Two Months Before Production Starts: ‘It’s Been An Honour’
- There’s been a big shake-up over the new Marvel Blade movie
- The director of the film, Bassam Tariq, left the project
- This comes two months before the action movie is set to go into production
- But Bassam will still be executive producer of the film.
- The film will star two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali
- Blade has already been made into a movie trilogy starring Wesley Snipes
There’s been a big shake-up over the new Marvel Blade movie.
The film’s director, Bassam Tariq, left the project just two months before the vampire slayer action flick was due to go into production, it was announced via The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday evening.
But Tariq will still serve as executive producer.
The film will star two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as the role made famous by Wesley Snipes in a previous trilogy. The supporting cast for the new Blade movie are Delroy Lindo and Aaron Stone.
Out: There’s been a big shakeup on the new Blade movie. The film’s director, Bassam Tariq, quit the project just two months before the vampire slayer action flick went into production, it was reported via The Hollywood Reporter; seen in 2020
“It’s been an honor to work with the amazing people at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Can’t wait to see where the next director takes the movie,” Bassam said in a statement to THR.
“Due to ongoing changes to our production schedule, Bassam is no longer advancing as director of Blade but will remain executive producer on the film,” Marvel said in a statement.
“We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he has done to get Blade to where he is.”
Production was scheduled to begin in November 2022. The film premiered in 2019 at Comic Con.
New role: Mahershala Ali sent fans into a frenzy when he was announced as a vampire hunter in July 2019; seen at Comic Con in 2019
Winner: Ali won two Best Supporting Actor Oscars, the first for Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight and then again earlier this year for the road movie Green Book (pictured 2019)
Ali was first linked to the film in 2019.
The Moonlight Actor was unveiled for the role during Marvel Studios’ Comic-Con panel, which saw the entertainment giant roll out the fourth phase of its cinematic universe.
Ali received a standing ovation as he took the stage and sent fans cheering when he announced his role while donning a Blade cap.
Speaking after the announcement, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said, “He’s a huge fan of those movies and a huge fan of this character and that just made sense.”
“It’s an honor that he agreed to play Blade for us.”
Blade, whose first appearance was in the 1973 comic book Tomb of Dracula, is half-human, half-vampire.
Flashback: Wesley Snipes played the character in three movies, starting with 1998’s Blade and ending with 2004’s Blade Trinity
Wesley Snipes played the character in three films, starting with Blade in 1998 and ending with Blade Trinity in 2004.
The trilogy is considered an early example of the current trend of comic book superhero movies.
Ali won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, the first for Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight and then again earlier this year for the road movie Green Book.
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