It looks like Marvel Studios has finally found its director for the Mahershala Ali-led Blade film. Deadline is reporting that Bassam Tariq is in talks to join the project to bring the famous vampire hunter to life. Stacy Osei-Kuffour joined the project around five months ago to write its script after her work on HBO’s Watchmen. The director is best known for his work on Mogul Mowgli, where he worked together with Riz Ahmed. Negotiations aren’t final as of now. It seems they’ve been meeting with dozen of candidates since last fall.
Marvel Studios has been hard at work finding a director for this project. They’ve gone through various options, such as a writer-director but then decided to hire Osei-Kuffor. Her joining the project shortened the list of potential candidates. It looks like Tariq’s pitch was the one to beat out the rest but he has yet to sign a deal. The film originally was pitched by Mahershala Ali, who is heavily involved with the film’s development.
It’ll be the director’s first major deal and is similar to how they chose Taika Waititi after his success with Hunt for the Wilderpeople. His vision of introducing the vampires officially into the MCU will be a must-watch, as it could open up darker avenues for the company. It seemed early on that the film was going to release October 2022, but the search for the right team delayed the production by quite a bit. Still, it’s good they are prioritizing the project and not rushing it out to hit a specific deadline.
Source: Deadline
