‘Blade’ runs out of director two months before the start of filming

Bassam Tariq will no longer be the director of ‘Blade’. Marvel has announced the departure of the filmmaker just two months before the first day of shooting the next MCU movie, starring Mahershala Ali as the Vampire Slayer Daywalker.

Tariq was announced by Marvel as the director of ‘Blade’ in the summer of 2021, more than a year ago, and leaves the production just before filming begins. It is unknown who will occupy the director’s chair, if there will be delays in production or if the release date will be moved, initially set for November 3, 2023.

“It has been an honor working with the wonderful people at Marvel. We were able to put together a fantastic cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film,” Tariq said in a statement, confirming his departure as director, though will remain on the project as executive producer.

Tariq isn’t the first director to walk out on a Marvel movie just months before filming. Scott Derricksonfor example, resigned from ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ 4 months before its shooting, giving his position to a sam raimi who returned to superhero movies. jon watts, the director of the latest ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy, also distanced himself from the new ‘Fantastic 4’ movie after initially being announced as its manager. Although this project has more room for maneuver (its release date is set for November 8, 2024), it already has a substitute: Matt Shakman.

More notorious was when Marvel and Edgar Wright parted ways after spending more than a year working on the script for ‘Ant-Man’. Edgar Wright once said that “I wanted to make a Marvel movie, but I don’t think Marvel wanted to make an Edgar Wright movie..”