Wesley Snipes Reacts To ‘Blade Franchise’ Losing Another Director
Way back in 2019, it was announced that two-time Oscar winner, Mahershala Ali was cast to play Marvel superhero, Blade. A role that was previously occupied by Wesley Snipes, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a thing. Since the announcement, the film has suffered through several production issues, including director, Bassam Tariq joining the project in 2021 and leaving the following year. That same time, a new screenwriter joined production to rewrite the script, with an additional writer being hired to rewrite again. Two more writers were hired to rework the script before and after the 2023 Writers Guild strike while director, Yann Derange was hired as the new director.
Now, just last week, Variety would report Demange is stepping down from the project, with yet another screenwriter coming on board. This makes a total of 3 directors and 5 writers that have been attached to the new Blade movie over the last 5 years. In response to the news that has now delayed the project once again, the star of the original Blade trilogy, Wesley Snipes would take to Twitter in order to share his reaction. In a nod to the character's famous lines, Snipes would write:
"Blade, lordylordylordy, folks still looking for the secret sauce, riding snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough, Daywalkers made it look easy, don't they?"
Stephen Dorff, who famously played Deacon Frost in the 1998 film would comment on the production issues this new reboot is facing.
He would say:
"Marvel is used to me trashing them anyway...how's that PG Blade movie going for you, that can't get a director? Because anybody who goes there is going to be laughed at by everyone, because we already did it and made it the best. There's no Steve Norrington out there"
Steve Norrington refers to the original director of the 1998 Blade movie. When news of Ali's casting first hit the web, Snipes was rather supportive of the decision. In 2019, Snipes said:
"To all the jaywalkers losing their minds right now, Chilaaxx. Although the news comes as a surprise, it's all good. Such is the 'business of entertainment!' Much peace to the MCU crew - always a fan. Honor and respect to the grandmaster Stan. Congratulations and Salaam to Mahershala Ali, a beautiful and talented artist whose expressions I look forward to experiencing for many years to come. Inshallah, we will someday work together. Out importantly to my loyal fans, the incredible outpouring of love is overwhelming. I am grateful for the never-ending support. So, 'Nah fret nah worry, it's not de end of de story' Welcome to the Jaywalker Klique"
The Blade reboot is currently scheduled for a November 2025 release. However, with this latest piece of news, the project will mostly likely be delayed once again.
