Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Mahershala Ali

  • Mahershala Ali Shares Motivating Update on Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade’

    Mahershala Ali Shares Motivating Update on Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade’

    It’s kind of crazy to think how long ago Mahershala Ali was announced as the iconic vampire hunter Blade. We all were quite excited to see the direction this take on the iconic character would take, especially with the potential of it being one of Marvel Studios’ first R-rated projects. Yet, we still are waiting for it to start filming after COVID delays and these strikes.

    Some even believed that Ali may have lost interest in the project given how long it took up until now to get the ball rolling. Luckily, it seems he’s still very much attached to the project as he reveals in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that they are still actively working on the project.

    We’re working on it. That’s the best I could tell you. I’m really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we’ll be back at it relatively soon.

    Mahershala Ali

    In the same interview, he adds that he is “sincerely encouraged” regarding those involved in directing and writing the project since it went through several creatives since the initial announcement. We even had a director attached in Bassam Tariq who left the project at one point.

    I’m sincerely encouraged in terms of where things are at and who’s on board and who’s leading the way as far as the writing of the script and the directing and all that. So that’s the extent of what I can tell you.

    Mahershala Ali

    It’s definitely great news to hear that Blade is still happening (for now) and we’ll see if they might end up starting production sooner rather than later to hit that initially expected 2025 release date. For now, we still have to wait for the next update. Yann Demange is currently attached to direct and there hasn’t been a change in director so far.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • Mahershala Ali Almost Left ‘Blade’ Reboot; Added ‘Logan’ Writer

    Mahershala Ali Almost Left ‘Blade’ Reboot; Added ‘Logan’ Writer

    Blade has been Marvel Studios’ one project that isn’t seemingly getting off the ground. While they did announce a while back that Mahershala Ali would play the iconic character many years ago, the film never seems to have a finalized script or even a production start. There was one time it almost got the ball rolling but swiftly had to postpone again.

    It seems a problem is that the story keeps evolving depending on who is writing it after going through at least five writers. There’s a weird phrasing by Variety where they state: “the story at one point morphed into a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons” as if life lessons aren’t a common element in many of these films’ core themes. Yet, who knows where the sentiment came but it would be strange to have Ali’s Blade not be the main character.

    Either way, it seems that the script issues almost led to Ali leaving the project (something that has been hinted at in the past) and Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios’ CEO, has hired Logan writer Michael Green to start from scratch. The upside is that Marvel may be learning from the budget bloats and hopes to make the film with a “smaller” budget of $100M, which may become more common moving forward.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Pearl’ Star Mia Goth Joins Mahershala Ali’s MCU Film ‘Blade’

    ‘Pearl’ Star Mia Goth Joins Mahershala Ali’s MCU Film ‘Blade’

    We haven’t heard much about Maherhsala Ali and Marvel Studios’ upcoming new take on iconic vampire hunter Blade. After a long pause, as production is set to finally start in a few months, the production studio got their hands on one of the biggest rising stars at the moment in Mia Goth for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe entry set to be directed by Yann Demange from a script by Michael Starrbury. As is usual with these castings, her role is being kept a secret for now.

    Goth is probably among the current rising stars in Hollywood after her breakout role in Ti West’s X and its prequel Pearl. She has a knack for horror after starring in A Cure for Wellness, Suspiria, and Infinity Pool. She is also set to round out West’s X trilogy with MaXXXine which is currently filming. So she is likely to jump straight into the MCU production right after.

    It’ll be interesting to see what role she has in the upcoming MCU film and if they hope to have her be a recurring actress in the franchise. There’s no word on who she might be playing and how big of a role it might be, but she’d definitely make for a great addition to the franchise. Perhaps we get a new take on Vampire by Night who joins forces with Blade to take on an unlikely new foe in the horror corner of this cinematic universe.

    Source: Deadline

  • RUMOR: Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade’ May Have Found its Cinematographer

    RUMOR: Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade’ May Have Found its Cinematographer

    We’ve long been wondering what Marvel Studios has planned for their unique take on Blade. There hasn’t been much news on the project that seemingly went through quite a turbulent production cycle before any cameras got rolling. Once it lost its initial director Bassam Tariq, it seemed like the project might end up getting pushed back further and further away. Then we heard that they are completely reworking the script with Beau DeMayo‘s involvement rumored before Michael Starrbury was confirmed.

    It took some time before Mahershala Ali‘s Blade truly picked up steam once Lovecraft Country director Yann Demange was confirmed as the new director. The film is still set to start production sometime this year and Cosmic Circus may have uncovered some more from the project hinting that the cameras might get rolling sooner rather than later. According to them, Matthew Libatique has joined the project as its cinematographer.

    What is interesting is that this isn’t his first Marvel project. LIbatique not only worked on Venom but also was the director of photography on the original Iron Man. He’s also been quite busy with his work on the recent releases of The Whale and Don’t Worry Darling. He also was involved with the DC film Birds of Prey, and has quite an extensive resumé. It’ll be interesting to see what he brings to this gothic take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whatever it may be, here’s hoping that the film starts rolling sooner rather than later.

    Source: Cosmic Circus