Director Bassam Tariq Departs Blade, Marvel Issues Statement

September 27, 2022

Blade no longer has a director as Bassam Tariq has departed the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

No replacement director for Blade has been announced just yet. Currently, the film has a release date of November 3, 2023. It’s not known if the departure of Tariq will impact the production of the film starring Mahershala Ali or when it is released.

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“Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,” Marvel said in a statement issued to The Hollywood Reporter. “We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.”

Tariq also issued a statement saying that it’s been an honor to work with Marvel and that they “were able to put together a killer cast and crew.” As a result, Tariq is “eager to see where the next director takes the film.”

This is the second time that the iconic character has appeared in live-action films as the Blade trilogy from New Line Cinema helped shepherd comic books and superheroes to the big screen. Combined, the three films brought in over $400 million at the global box office. Blade was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan as a supporting character in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 in July 1973.