Blade star Mahershala Ali is reportedly "very frustrated" with the production on Marvel's upcoming vampire movie, with the script featuring just two "lackluster" action sequences.
Jeff Sneider, an noted industry insider, recently tweeted that he'd been told "the current BLADE script is roughly 90 pages and features exactly TWO (lackluster) action sequences. Mahershala said to be very frustrated with the process."
I’m told that the current BLADE script is roughly 90 pages and features exactly TWO (lackluster) action sequences. Mahershala said to be very frustrated with the process. Feige said to be spread too thin. But hey, that’s just what sources are telling me. Don’t shoot the messenger
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) September 28, 2022
While script lengths naturally vary from film to film, a usual rule of thumb is to expect each page to translate to a minute of movie. Should Sneider's information be correct, a 90 page script would make Blade very short for a Marvel film. And if there are only two action sequences, that won't expand the runtime by much. Of course, runtime is no indication of quality, but if Ali is as frustrated as Sneider's sources claim, then things may not be looking great for Blade right now.
In a second tweet, Sneider said that he's "Also hearing Beau DeMayo has come on to work on the script." DeMayo is currently writing for X-Men '97, and has writing credits for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Moon Knight, and The Witcher, among others. The current Blade script was penned by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who was previously a story editor and writer on HBO's Watchmen show.
Sneider also added that "Feige said to be spread too thin." Kevin Feige is, of course, the Marvel Studios boss who oversees all of the MCU projects. There are currently 14 Marvel films and and 15 different Disney+ TV shows in varying stages of development, and while Feige isn't the direct producer of every single one of these, that's still a huge amount to keep an eye on.
Sneider's tweets come in the wake of Blade director Bassam Tariq leaving the project just over a month before the film was due to begin shooting. Marvel will now be searching for a replacement. Previously, John Wick director Chad Stahelski had told Feige that he'd like to direct Blade.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/marvels-blade-mahershala-ali-reportedly-very-frustrated-with-the-process