Marvel's new Blade movie is finally entering production.
According to Production List, the FTIA (Film & Television Industry Alliance) site that keeps track of films in development, Blade is set to begin filming on July 4, 2022. The site also has Atlanta, GA, and New Orleans, LA, listed as filming locations. The movie does not currently have a release date.
A reboot of Stephen Norrington's Blade was first announced Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con back in 2019 – with Moonlight's Mahershala Ali taking over the titular role from Wesley Snipes. In 2021, Bassam Tariq joined the film as director, with HBO's Watchmen screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour set to pen the script. The only other confirmed cast member is Da 5 Bloods actor Delroy Lindo, though rumors of a Kit Harrington appearance were sparked by the Eternals post-credits scene.
"What's exciting about the film that we're making is [there] hasn't been a canon for Blade, as we're reading through the comics and everything," Tariq previously said.
"Him being a daywalker is the one thing that's been established, and you know we can't deny what Wesley Snipes did, which was he basically got this whole ball rolling. A Black man created the superhero world that we're in, that’s just the truth."
Snipes played the vampire-hunting antihero in three consecutive films, Blade, Blade II, and Blade Trinity, way back before the Marvel Cinematic Universe even existed. Based on the comic book character created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, the film's massive success in 1998 began Marvel's reign over the superhero movie world and spawned a global interest in comic book adaptations.
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