ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING REPORT IS A RUMOR. PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING STORY WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
Ever since it was originally announced in 2019, the MCU’s interpretation of the half-human, half-vampire monster hunter Blade has been in production hell. The character, once made popular by the 1998 film, portrayed by Wesley Snipes, has since had a revolving door of creatives and multiple pushbacks in terms of getting the project off the ground.
Bassam Tariq was originally set to direct, with Stacy Amma Osei-Kuffour writing the script, but Tariq left in early 2022 following creative differences. Yann Demange took over directing duties, while Michael Starrbury was brought on to rewrite the script. Later, both Nic Pizzolatto and Michael Green did additional rewrites.
One of the biggest rumors regarding the troubled production is the continued issues with the script. At one point, the film was said to primarily focus on female characters, with the titular Blade being relegated to a side character in his own movie. With the box office failure of The Marvels and poor reception of shows like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk they may be diverging from that angle.
But now, the production may be hitting another major snag. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s lead actor, Mahershala Ali (Alita: Battle Angel), is being eyed by Universal for the next Jurassic World movie, which also stars former Marvel actress Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and is being directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). The film is currently set for a July 2nd, 2025 release date, meaning that if he were to join, he would be doing so very soon.
This possible shooting schedule would likely conflict with he one for Blade, which is currently set for this summer. The film has a November 7th, 2025 release date. If Ali decides to join Jurassic World, this could delay or even shelve the Blade film.
If Ali is indeed leaving, it could be due to his being fed up with the various production delays and wanting to get more acting work. If he feels it will benefit his career he’ll go from killing vampires to killing dinosaurs.
What do you think? Is Ali leaving Marvel to join Jurassic World? Will he still be able to do Blade and act in the new Jurassic World film? Or will he have to choose? Let us know your thoughts.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Fandom Wire
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