Script Issues Almost Caused Mahershala Ali To Quit Marvel's Blade

[Outsiders]

Mahershala Ali almost left Marvel's Blade reboot due to script issues, as reported by Variety.

Despite Mahershala Ali's initial signing for the lead role of a vampire, the project faced numerous setbacks, including five writers, two directors, and a shutdown six weeks before production. At one point, the story shifted to a female-led narrative with life lessons, pushing Blade to a fourth lead position, despite Ali's involvement.  Reports suggested that Ali was considering leaving the project due to script issues, prompting Marvel's Kevin Feige to hire Michael Green, the Oscar-nominated writer of "Logan," to start anew.

Blade is still set to release on February 14, 2025, with rumors circulating that the studio is aiming for a budget of less than $100 million, a departure from their usual big-spending approach.

[icematta]

On 11/1/2023 at 5:54 PM, Outsiders said:

the story shifted to a female-led narrative with life lessons

But it's Blade, they can make a movie about his daughter "Bloodline", after of course introducing Blade to the newer audiences...

[AndyL]

I just don't understand Disney's thinking. I'm all for powerful female leads. Massive love to Milla and Kate among others. But how about you make a movie about the main character first and then if a character like his daughter tests well with the audience then give her her own bit a la Harley Quinn. Of course they screwed Harley up but if done right female leads are completely saleable. Don't know much about Bloodline but that actually says a lot. As a female fan I'm very familiar with Blade but I had zero idea who she is much less care if they made a movie about her.

[TheArrow]

I've seen firsthand how "creators" in film can get in their own way.  They can start with a solid, great paper-concept, that lends itself to good character arcs, good set-pieces and visuals.........and then in the space of a weekend, maybe while on a bender of some kind, they mess it all up and go in a "different direction", and frequently that means into the terlet. Second-guessing is an unfortunate side-effect of big properties because as much as someone gets hired to play with those toys, the thing still ends up being someone else's baby......and THEY get final say.  Sometimes all involved just need to let go and let it grind itself into the dirt.  😞

[Atlantis]

This is wrong headed and to me, is a big reason why DC's Black Lightning did so poorly (they had a lot of  reasons over there though).  The producers/writers spent WAY too much time on his daughters, till they very quickly eclipsed him as the star. They should have focused on him the first 2 seasons, and afterwards give his super-powered kids more air time. Let's see BLADE. The Blade that, far as movie timelines go, predates the MCU as we know it. Lots to explore there, lots to play with without going into hand-me-down knock-off copies. 

[bashpics99]

Disney probably trying to soften the character up somewhat,  a more kid-friendly Blade so to speak

[TheArrow]

On 11/2/2023 at 3:10 AM, Atlantis said:

This is wrong headed and to me, is a big reason why DC's Black Lightning did so poorly (they had a lot of  reasons over there though).  The producers/writers spent WAY too much time on his daughters, till they very quickly eclipsed him as the star. They should have focused on him the first 2 seasons, and afterwards give his super-powered kids more air time. Let's see BLADE. The Blade that, far as movie timelines go, predates the MCU as we know it. Lots to explore there, lots to play with without going into hand-me-down knock-off copies. 

20 years ago, I was doing development on a animated project called " Man-Tree"--it's a zinger of a name, ain't it??  The creator of the idea had seen Lord of the Rings and got "inspired" by the Ents.

Okay, so I read the outline, noted that it took place on a fantasy-world ( not Earth) and that the lead character was a "protector of children"--that gave me visual hooks right away. 
I was working on this thing, doing sketches, concept designs, maps and "working drawings" of the environs and how the Man-Tree character would look and work--doing this for a couple of weeks. 
Figured I had enough material for a meet to get some direction--I schlep the stuff to the board room, meeting starts............and I find out that " Oh, we aren't going in that direction anymore.  See, it's now about a prince and his brother and......."   They weren't even calling it "Man-Tree"  at that point.....no-one bothered to tell me.  And this didn't happen just once, but three times----guy behind it kept changing his mind ( I don't think ANYTHING got made).  That's common in show biz.
 

[SpiderS]

It would make sense only if we were seeing Wesley Snipes version again who had 3 movies and now we see him as father figure in new light, but when you introduce all new Blade putting him in secondary position is horrible idea, but according to this it wasn't even secondary but worse. But on other hand because of this they hired new writer who did Blade Runner 2049 and Logan, which is really promising.

[AndyL]

On 11/5/2023 at 2:04 PM, SpiderS said:

It would make sense only if we were seeing Wesley Snipes version again who had 3 movies and now we see him as father figure in new light, but when you introduce all new Blade putting him in secondary position is horrible idea, but according to this it wasn't even secondary but worse. But on other hand because of this they hired new writer who did Blade Runner 2049 and Logan, which is really promising.

Sources within the industry who have a pretty good record of being correct were reporting it was pretty much the same thing that happened with Masters of the Universe: Revelation. Basically Blade was going to be in about 5-10 minutes at the beginning and then be captured or injured and it would be up to a 3 female lead to rescue or save him.

Like I said if that's the kind of movie you want to do create your own characters and try to make it work. Fool around and find out. What you don't do is defile a beloved character to push a bunch of D listers for reasons who even knows anymore. I'm happy Ali stood up against this madness. It's about time someone with some leverage put these clown in their place. As a company Disney should be happy as well because this would have been another huge nail in the MCU coffin. Good for him.

[SpiderS]

On 11/6/2023 at 3:34 AM, AndyL said:

and it would be up to a 3 female lead to rescue or save him.

Yeah that 3 character thing was hard to believe, So one is Blade's daughter but who other 2 would have been? I'm really curious. Maybe Blade's mom who somehow returned and it would be learning from her mistakes which might explain "life lessons part"? Like at least with Madame Web movie with 4 Spider-Women makes sense since there's billion Spider-Women and some of them have fan bases out there but Blade doesn't have such deep character roster.

[Outsiders]

Director Yann Demange has confirmed that Marvel's Blade reboot, featuring Mahershala Ali as the sword-wielding vampire hunter, will receive an R rating. In an interview with Deadline, Demange expressed his gratitude for the R rating, emphasizing its importance. Previously, Demange had mentioned how his struggles had provided him with an outsider's perspective, which proved beneficial to his work. However, he now feels a sense of peace after confronting his demons through his latest film, Dammi, showcased at the Toronto Film Festival.

Quote

“They gave me the R, which is so important,” Demange said.  “I come out of this wanting to be more open, more vulnerable and bring a more personal aspect to my work,” he said. “But for Blade, we are going to have fun because Mahershala is such a deep actor. I’m excited to show a kind of ruthlessness, a roughness he has, that allows him to walk the earth in a particular way. I love him for that. He’s got a dignity and integrity, but there is a ferocity there that he usually keeps under the surface. I want to unleash that and put it on the screen.”

 

[tarot]

the fact that they thought they could make Blade a PG-13 movie was moronic.

[AndyL]

OK. So we got the R rating thing settled. Now how about we do a not terrible story that's actually about the lead character.

[Atlantis]

On 11/2/2023 at 4:14 AM, bashpics99 said:

Disney probably trying to soften the character up somewhat,  a more kid-friendly Blade so to speak

That's such a bizarre and out-of-touch concept....if true, it shows they neither know or care about this character. One can no more have a kid-friendly Blade, than one could have a Wolverine without claws. 

[since83]

The sooner they learn that most comic fans are accustomed to much more violence and swearing. Just cause it is "#@$%" doesn't mean you as the reader don't just say it. Even under the comics code. And the people who were 10 when Iron Man came out are 25 now. We all can handle some rated R material. Some things can be aimed at a younger audience, and there will always be a place for that, but we deserve stuff actually aimed at us too. 

[leokearon]

On 11/6/2023 at 10:55 PM, Atlantis said:

That's such a bizarre and out-of-touch concept....if true, it shows they neither know or care about this character. One can no more have a kid-friendly Blade, than one could have a Wolverine without claws. 

Blade did appear kid friendly (along with the punisher) in the Spider-Man Animated Series and well it wasn't good

[JohnF]

Good news and hopefully more projects will be rated R in the future. I guess it wasn't necessarily an issue during the Infinity Saga, but as we move forward and more characters are being introduced, including rated R content is going to be essential with some releases.