By the time cameras eventually start rolling on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Blade reboot, almost four years will have passed since Mahershala Ali took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to reveal he was bringing the Daywalker back to the screen.
Since then, we went through a lengthy period of radio silence where almost no news or updates emerged from the project, but since the gears started turning, it’s been nothing but setback after setback. Bassam Tariq was eventually tasked to direct, but right before shooting was scheduled to begin, he dropped out to throw the entire production into chaos.
Blade is now penciled in for a September 2024 release, with the first day of filming tentatively eying a spring start date. A recent rumor emerged offering up Elegance Bratton as Marvel’s top choice to wield the megaphone, and as chance would have it, the filmmaker addressed how he would approach the story in an interview with ScreenRant. Hypothetically, of course.
“Well, I think yes for sure. I’m very much interested in a contemplative and thoughtful camera approach when it comes to filming Black actors. I think a lot of times we observe and dissect difference in cinema rather than spend time. So, I think I would want to kind of spend that time to bring Blade into a more recognizably human place. Secondarily Blade’s story is very much my story. This is a young Black man, abandoned by his mom and I would really want to explore that. And I guess the last thing is Blade, as a Black man, if you go to a barber shop the conspiracy theories around Whiteness, Blackness, immortality all sorts of things are kind of swirling around.
So, in that kind of Marvel-esque humor, I would want to bring some of that barber shop humor into it because I’ve been in conversations about Blade with 5 percenters and Black Israelites, and kind of all these…I think Blade kind of as a mythological character exists in a lot of different parts of the American consciousness that I would love to poke around in and provoke with. But ultimately, it’s an action movie. It’s fun. Vampires are sexy and fun and I want to make a really fun action film. And the fact that Mahershala is playing Blade, he’s one of the best actors on God’s green Earth, and I like working with great actors.”
There you have it, should Bratton be announced as the director of Blade, we’ve already got a good idea of his approach to the story. Given that he’s talking about it so openly, the speculation could prove to be right on the money, but as of yet we’re waiting for an official confirmation from Marvel. However, that shouldn’t be too far away.