Seeking help in getting the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the daywalker to stop ice-skating uphill, Marvel has tapped True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto to rewrite the script to their upcoming Blade reboot.
Per an April 28th exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter, Pizzolatto has been working on his take on Marvel’s resident vampire hunter for a few weeks now, which rather than completely throwing out the original script written by Michael Starrbury (who most notably snagged an Emmy nod for his work on the fourth episode of Ava DuVernay’s crime drama When They See Us) will use it as a jumping off point.
Notably, Pizzolatto previously worked with Blade star Mahershala Ali on the third season of the aforementioned True Detective, wherein the actor starred as detective Wayne Hays.
Not only does their established co-working pedigree lend a slight bit of sunshine to the dark catacombs that have been Blade‘s development, but Marvel’s hiring of someone who knows how to work with Ali gives credence to previous rumors which suggested that the film’s troubles were in part the result of the actor’s frustration with not being the ‘center’ of the production.
“I hear there is some drama behind the scenes with […] Blade,” briefly noted film scooper and reporter Jeff Sneider on the March 9th episode of his and film critic John Rocha’s The Hot Mic podcast. “Mahershala Ali feels like Blade is his movie as ‘this is me and you are going to build it around me’ rather than ‘this is what we are doing, now we’re going to find an actor to fit it.’”
Further, the fact that Pizzolatto had already begun his script writing duties well before the official reveal of his involvement suggests that the newest member of the film’s undead coven was responsible for Sneider’s previous report on the March 16th episode of The Hot Mic that the production had recently “gotten a little bit better. Things have shaped up.”
However, Sneider was left notably confused by his sources framing of this development as a positive, as they had also alleged that “the script is ‘leaner and meaner’ and that they cut out the fat”.
RELATED RUMOR: Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Reboot Will In Fact Feature Title Hero’s Daughter, Kit Harrington’s Black Knight To Be Cut Entirely
“The script that I’d heard about was like 87 pages,” he detailed. “[I’d heard] that there wasn’t enough, that they’d basically shaved it to the bone.”
As to what had supposedly been trimmed, Sneider asserted, “I guess what they cut out, I’d heard, was that Blade was gonna tie-in with Eternals and Kit Harrington’s Black Knight”.
“Black Knight’s not really involved in the Blade thing anymore,” he summarized.
Though official details regarding the film’s plot have yet to be released in any capacity, a supposed leak of the film’s script suggests that it will not only see the titular hero relegated to a mere ensemble member in his own solo film, but that its events will take place entirely in service of setting up his daughter, Alex, as his successor.
As of writing, Blade has yet to receive an official release date.