Marvel Studios has been hitting several roadblocks over the last few years, delaying project after project. While most titles now have their respective premiere dates, there’s one production in particular that Kevin Feige and the rest of his team just can’t seem to get right – Blade. Now, the film is getting roasted by legendary actor, Wesley Snipes, who first appeared as the titular vampire hunter back in 1998’s Blade.
Blade Isn’t Looking Great
Sitting back and having a chuckle at Marvel’s bad luck, Wesley Snipes sent a message to the creatives behind the Blade revamp, after it was announced just last week that the movie’s director, Yann Demange, was stepping down from his position.
In addition to the loss of Demange, the film seems to be shifting its storyline as the announcement also came with the tidbit of information that Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Fantastic Four, Black Widow) would be joining the screenwriting team.
Wesley Throws Some Shade
Seemingly exasperated at the movie’s inability to pick up cameras and get a move on it, Wesley Snipes took to his X account to toss some side-eye at the folks behind Blade. Along with his shady emoji, the To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar actor wrote, “Blade, lordylordylordy. Folks still lookin for the secret sauce, ridin snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough. Daywalkers make it look easy, don’t they?”
Stephen Dorff
Wesley Snipes isn’t the only original Blade franchise alum to cast a shade of doubt and sass on the upcoming production as his co-star from the first film, Stephen Dorff, had his own comments for Marvel last year.
The Mob Land actor made fun of the superhero studio for allegedly making the vampire flick PG as all three of the Snipes-led productions were hit with an R for copious amounts of violence and language among other things. Incredibly confident that there will never be another trilogy like the Blade movies already made, Dorff’s comments targeted Marvel’s hopes of bringing a new classic to its dedicated following.
Will It Ever Happen?
The new movie will (hopefully eventually) see Mahershala Ali don the black trench coat and dark sunglasses first worn by Wesley Snipes in Blade. Since its announcement in 2019, the movie has been one of the most anticipated titles to come from the MCU, with the loss of Demange likely to give fans a sigh of heavy frustration.
The French filmmaker isn’t even the first visionary to exit the project as Bassam Tariq (Ghosts Of Sugar Land) stepped away in September 2022.
Tariq’s decision to part ways with the Marvel production came just two months before the film was set to pick up cameras, which ultimately left the studio scrambling for options. On top of that, the script has allegedly undergone several rewrites and has welcomed and bid adieu to a slew of writers including Watchmen’s Stacy Osei-Kuffour.
At this point, Marvel is setting up the pins for ex-stars like Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff to roast the ever-delayed Blade to no end.
Other Setbacks
Along with this particular reboot, Marvel has faced other setbacks for shows like Daredevil: Born Again and movies including Captain America: Brave New World. It seems like each time the studio gets one project up and moving, the wheels fall off on another, causing them to go back to the drawing board and rope in an entirely new team of creatives. If we had to take a guess, this won’t be the last piece of fodder Wesley Snipes will have to mock Blade with as the movie moves into another chamber of production purgatory.
