Marvel Studios has reportedly met with potential directors for Blade. Well before the MCU was even an idea, Wesley Snipes portrayed the half-human vampire hunter on the big screen. Snipes appeared in a trio of Blade movies, culminating in 2004's Blade: Trinity. After that, the character remained untouched for years (save for a brief Spike TV series). News of Blade joining the MCU arrived in 2019, when Marvel boss Kevin Feige announced a movie is in the works at San Diego Comic-Con. Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is set to play the character, and Watchmen scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour joined the project this past February as screenwriter.

Despite Blade being announced nearly two years ago and Marvel steadily building their Phase 4/5 slate, little progress has been made on the film. Osei-Kuffour's involvement was the first major update to arrive in a while; aside from that, Marvel has been quiet. There were rumors of Blade starting production later this year, but that no longer appears to be the case. Instead, Blade reportedly won't start filming until July 2022, far later than some might have expected.

Related: Why Deadpool Should Connect Blade to the MCU

However, progress is still evidently being made behind the scenes. In a new report from THR focusing on DC's Superman reboot, it's said Marvel has already met with some potential directors for Blade. As DC readies its Superman project, which will center on a Black Kal-El, Warner Bros. and Marvel just might be looking at the same directors. No concrete names were given, though it was speculated that those like Regina King and Steven Caple Jr. could be on the shortlists.

Fan poster featuring Mahershala Ali as Blade

That a director hasn't been named yet is definitely surprising. Marvel's Fantastic Four, which was announced at the same Comic-Con as Blade, already has Jon Watts attached. At the same time, with production not starting up until next year, there is still time to name a director. If Marvel has already met with some potential candidates, an announcement could be coming within the next few months. At the very least, it would be odd to end 2021 without a director for Blade.

Fans are impatient for major updates regarding Blade and have begun wondering why there's been only radio silence so far. Blade was conspicuously absent from the MCU's epic Phase 4 trailer that debuted on Monday, which even made sure to include the undated and uncast Fantastic Four. The lack of news on the project feels a tad suspicious, but it's also likely because Marvel has a great number of films and television shows in development. Blade is still in the works, albeit with a slower trajectory than initially believed.

More: If Deadpool 3 Is Rated-R, MCU’s Blade Has To Be Too

Source: THR

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