The writers’ strike has claimed its first major feature film delay, and it’s a movie that’s already been paused before.
Pre-production work on Marvel’s Blade starring Mahershala Ali has been halted, a source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to IGN. THR first broke the news today.
Just a week ago, the production had brought on True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto for writing duties, marking a reunion between him and Ali. However, between the appointment and the calling of the strike this past Tuesday, “time simply ran out,” an insider told THR.
It’s currently set for a Sept. 6, 2024 release date although, depending on how long the strike lasts, it’s likely that could change. It was previously eyeing a production start in late May.
Blade's Latest Hiccup
It’s only the latest delay Blade’s hit since it was first announced back in 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con. It was first halted back in September 2022, when original director Bassam Tariq exited due to creative differences, and caused a chain reaction of release date changes.
Lovecraft Country’s Yann Demange stepped in to direct after that with Michael Starrbury writing the script (which is what Pizzolatto is working off of).
With the writers’ strike still ongoing, other Marvel Phase 5 movies could be affected. Deadpool 3 was set to be the next MCU movie to head into production.
While movies can still continue production during the writers' strike (television shows like Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon have been handling this in different ways), work on scripts cannot be completed. Additionally, even if scripts are completed, it could still cause complications if changes in the writing are needed.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
