You know how Marvel‘s film adaptation of Blade has been in development hell for years now? Especially since the director, Bassam Tariq, recently left production due to scheduling conflicts caused directly by the long production time? Well, now it seems, the film looks to finally be getting out of development hell with its new director: Yann Demange. At least, we hope so.
Yann Demange: The Hopefully Final Director?
The Hollywood Reporter just announced that Marvel Studios has found their new director for Blade: Yann Demange. It seems that he will be taking over from Bassam Tariq, who stepped down as director for the film on September 28, 2022. Hopefully, Demange will stay the director this time.
As for who Yann Demange is? Demange is a French-Algerian film director born in 1977. Demange began his directing career with Secret Diary of a Call Girl in 2007. However, it wouldn’t be until he directed the zombie horror series Dead Set (2008) and crime drama series Top Boy (2011), receiving critical acclaim for both tv series, that he earned the chance to direct a feature length film in the form of the British historical action thriller war film ’71 (2014). That particular film got 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned Demange the British Independent Film Award for Best Director, so I think we’re in good hands as far as Blade is concerned.
Unfortunately, it will still be a while before we get to see if this is true. Blade has a release date scheduled for September 6, 2024. That’s nearly 2 years away as of this writing. So you might as well grab a nice thick book, and use it to pass the long wait in the meantime.
Blade: Other New Details
The new director isn’t the only bit of Blade news Deadline has for us. That same report mentions that Michael Starrbury will be taking over as writer from Stacy Osei-Kuffour.
Unfortunately, Michael Starrbury is a bit less well-known than Yann Demange. Starrbury was the writer for coming-of-age drama film The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013) and crime drama miniseries When They See Us (2019). Both the film and the miniseries received critical acclaim, so I also think we’re in good hands for the writing on Blade.
Again though, it will still be a while before we can see if this is true. You better make sure that book you’re reading to wait for Blade is extra long then.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
