​​The hunt for vampires is on again, as Marvel’s upcoming Blade reboot will be helmed by director Yann Demange. Replacing Bassam Tariq,  who departed the project back in September over creative differences, Demange will be joined by Michael Starburry who will pen the script for the new film.

Mahershala Ali is starring in titular role with Aaron Pierre and Delroy Lindo,  with production duties falling in the hands of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. The movie was scheduled to begin production on November 2022, with a November 3, 2023, release date.

However, with a new team on board and things starting from scratch, Disney is delaying the project a bit, with production set to start from 2023 and the release date set being shifted by a year to September 6, 2024.

A Phase 5 movie, currently there is no word on any of the other projects marked for Phase 6. Details are being kept under wraps but the new intent for the upcoming Blade is to portray the character in a significantly darker and grittier tone as Blade is one of the darker characters of Marvel universe in a capacity similar to Wolverine, Daredevil and Moon Knight.

Thus, unlike the normally goofier and comical movies of the MCU, the character may find himself falling on the rougher edge of the Marvel spectrum with less stupid jokes and quirks. Perhaps his portrayal maybe more similar to the much beloved Wesley Snipes  Blade  films made in the early 2000s by New Line which packed a bloody and gruesome tone befitting the vampire hunter.

For the unversed, Blade is a hybrid (half human – half vampire) creature who made it his life’s mission to hunt and erase vampire-kind from the world. Blade was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan for 1973’s The Tomb of Dracula No. 10 as a supporting character but soon became a fan favourite.