It's been more than three years since Marvel Studios announced plans for a new Blade movie, with Oscar-winner Ali playing the title role as everyone's favourite half-human, half-vampire vigilante.  However, after Tariq's departure in September, Marvel paused production on Blade to focus on crafting the perfect script and assembling the ideal production team. It now appears that Demange will serve as the new director of Blade for the year 2024. Additionally, a new writer has been hired to update the script units's none other than Michael Starrbury, who was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Ava DuVernay's Netflix series When They See Us. He has been hired to work on the highly anticipated vampire hero action movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

According to Deadline, Mahershala Ali will play the titular Daywalker in Blade, which will be directed by Yann Demange. According to Deadline, Demange agreed to helm Blade following weeks of meetings and candidate pitches at Marvel Studios. After impressing Marvel Studios executives with his Blade pitch, Demange was hired as director. The studio is rumoured to be aiming for a darker tone than previous MCU projects. After numerous rewrites during production and taking over from Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Beau DeMayo was named as the current writer of the upcoming Blade movie at the time of Tariq's departure. The production of a 

new script by Starrbury, nevertheless, is now planned to start in Atlanta next year.

Michael Starrbury, who will develop a new script for the movie, will work on the project with Demange. Colin in Black & White, When They See Us, and Legends of Chamberlain Heights are just a few of Starrbury's acting accomplishments.

While some fans questioned whether Marvel's schedule messes were an indication of problems, it appears the studio purposefully halted Blade's development rather than hurrying the process to reach the original production deadline. Given that Demange and Starrbury have previous experience creating critically acclaimed works, Marvel Studios' perseverance is probably going to pay off.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that Demange and Starrbury have been hired to adopt a darker, more sinister tone for the upcoming franchise, which will add even more supernatural and monster craziness to the MCU in the manner of Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night. We're looking forward to this, of course. Also, it is no doubt that Blade has been challenging for Marvel Studios, but the project is currently moving forward. Fans may find the lengthy wait unpleasant, but the delay will only help Blade rise to a level befitting an actor like Ali.

The New Line Cinema Blade trilogy played a key role in bringing superheroes and comic books to the big screen. The three movies earned more than $400 million in total at international box offices. Blade was a supporting character created by Gene Colan and Marv Wolfman in July 1973 for the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has occasionally ventured into the horror genre, most notably with this year's Werewolf by Night and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, the upcoming Blade film is rumoured to be considerably gritty and darker than anything Marvel has previously attempted. Although Ali hasn't appeared as Blade onscreen yet, his voice has been heard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): In one of the Eternals end-credits scenes, he speaks to Kit Harington's Dane Whitman.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Five, which also includes Captain America: New World Order and Daredevil: Born Again, is expected to include Blade.

The initial release date for Blade was 2023, right in the middle of Marvel's Phase 5 plans. It's unclear if Blade will still be categorised as a Phase 5 film or if its revised release date will move it into Phase 6.

Overall, it seems like they've found some excellent replacements for Blade's comeback to the big screen.

Blade is set to hit theatres on September 6, 2024.