Blade: Bassam Tariq Steps Down as Director Due to Delays

The troubled Blade MCU reboot continues to face more problems, as director Bassam Tariq steps down from the project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tariq was meant to begin production for the long-awaited MCU reboot of the vampire slayer, with filming beginning in November in Atlanta. However, the director has now left the project due to continuous delays, as mentioned by Marvel in its statement.

Tariq responded with a statement of his own to thank Marvel and the cast he put together for the film.

At the moment, Marvel Studios is looking for a replacement director to helm the project, which will be headlined Academy Award winning actor, Mahershala Ali.

The MCU film based on the iconic character was first announced during Marvel’s epic 2019 panel at the San Diego Comic-Con. However, unlike other projects that were announced at the event, Blade hasn’t even began filming, even though it was revealed earlier this year during Marvel’s 2022 SDCC panel that the film would arrive in Phase 5 of MCU on November 3, 2023.

With the film set to arrive in theatres around a year from now, fans are now worried whether the MCU adaptation of Blade will see another delay, with the project being postponed to 2024 or later.