Marvel's Blade reboot loses director as Bassam Tariq exits project

According to the Hollywood Reporter that director Bassam Tariq has stepped down from the project due to scheduling conflicts, the movie is a reboot of the Blade franchise and would introduce the vampire hunter into the MCU.

Oscar winner Mahershala Ali will play the lead role, the actor made his official MCU debut in a voiceover role in the post-credit scene of the 2021 movie Eternals.

In a statement to THR, Marvel Studios confirmed the exit stating “Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film. We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.”

Bassam Tariq also released a statement saying "It's been an honor working with the wonderful folks at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film.”

There are also reports that the despite having multiple writers working and reworking the script for the movie that it is very lackluster with both Mahershala Ali and Kevin Feige feeling frustrated.

This led to the recent hiring of Beau DeMayo as a writer, Demayo has previously worked on The Moon Knight series as well as Netflix's Witcher series.

I’m told that the current BLADE script is roughly 90 pages and features exactly TWO (lackluster) action sequences. Mahershala said to be very frustrated with the process. Feige said to be spread too thin. But hey, that’s just what sources are telling me. Don’t shoot the messenger

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) September 28, 2022

Along with Ali, actors Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Hopefully, the studio will find a new director to take over and breathe new life into the project as the movie is scheduled to start production in November with the official release date set for November 3, 2023.