- Albert Hughes turned down directing the Blade reboot due to discomfort with the controlled nature of superhero movies.
- Creative differences with lead actor Mahershala Ali have caused delays in the project.
- Marvel Studios has a history of conflicts and delays with projects, such as Daredevil: Born Again, due to changes in directors and writers.
Albert Hughes, the director of The Continental: From the World of John Wick, nearly directed Marvel Studios’ upcoming reboot of Blade. However, he ultimately declined the opportunity, and recently shared his reasoning for doing so.
Blade is a highly anticipated MCU project, and it has faced its share of conflict. In 2019, Marvel Studios announced that Mahershala Ali would play the vampire hunter following Disney’s acquisition of Fox. Since then, there have been many changes in the production team. Hughes was one of the potential directors for the film, and he elaborated on his choice to decline the offer during an appearance on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast.
Hughes said, “I’ve been in talks with the obvious studio about superhero movies a couple of times, but I always felt uncomfortable because I knew it was a system… I go, ‘No, I would implode from the kind of controlled nature of that world and not being able to do what I do.’ And I don’t understand why a real filmmaker would want to be in that system.”
The Blade reboot faces the challenge of outperforming the much-loved Wesley Snipes version. With an actor of Ali’s caliber in the leading role, expectations are high. Many script changes have been made, as Ali was unhappy with the initial drafts. Reports indicated that the actor nearly left the project over creative differences, which led to production delays.
Marvel Studios has a history of conflicts and delays in projects, such as Daredevil: Born Again, due to constant changes in directors or writers. Blade is currently scheduled for release on February 14, 2025, but this date may be subject to change.