Marvel movie "Blade" lost its director again and production has not yet begun

Marvel's Blade is once again in trouble for a director. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Yann Demange has withdrawn from the long-awaited project.

Yann Demange (left)

The departure was reportedly amicable and occurred some time ago, and is just the latest in a series of creative challenges facing the Blade project.

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige announced the project at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, when he made a surprise appearance by star Mahershala Ali and placed a "Blade" hat on him, to cheers from the crowd.

Blade was originally scheduled to go into production in the fall of 2022, but director Bassam Tariq left due to creative differences. Sources say Ali then handpicked Demange, the director of Devil's Land, to direct, but a few months later, the film became one of the major films delayed due to the writers' strike in May 2023. As of now, it has not entered production.

Ali will still star in the Blade movie, and Marvel will not rush to make the movie. Marvel's main screenwriter Eric Pearson is writing the latest version of the script for the project, with a release date of November 7, 2025.

The Blade news also comes as Marvel is recalibrating its output, giving it more breathing room with around two movies released per year, in contrast to the pressure it faced in the early 2020s to increase film and TV content.