Twenty-four years after the release of
Blade
, a successful adaptation of a Marvel comic book where Wesley Snipes donned the costume of a vampire superhero, Marvel Studios is starting to update this trilogy, based on the actor Mahershala Ali (
Green Book
).
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In September, the sudden departure of director Bassam Tariq had greatly upset this highly anticipated
reboot
by fans of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
According to the Deadline site, French director Yann Demange will immerse himself in the world of vampires and direct Blade.
Yann Demange will be supported by Michael Starrbury (
In their gaze
), who is in charge of the screenplay.
Filming should start in 2023 in Atlanta for an American release scheduled for September 6, 2024.
Born in Paris, but raised in London, Yann Demange notably distinguished himself thanks to the film
71'
, with Jack O'Connell (2014) and above all the fantastic series
Lovecraft Country,
broadcast on HBO.
In parallel with
Blade
, he will also work on the series
Scanners
(HBO) as executive producer and director.
Real name Eric Brooks, the character of Blade appears as a secondary character in the magazine
Tomb of Dracula
in February 1973, under the pencil of the designer Gene Colan and the pen of Marv Wolfman.
The original Blade was born in a brothel in Soho, Great Britain on October 24, 1929. This date became famous as Black Thursday, which led to the Great Depression.
Blade's mother, Tara Brooks, was a prostitute at Madame Vanity's Brothel.
Following numerous complications, she calls on a doctor named Deacon Frost, who turns out to be a vampire.
Tara Brooks will be bitten by Frost when she is about to give birth.
The baby therefore becomes a half-vampire.
Blade, the "daywalker"
His birth defect gives Blade all the advantages of a vampire without the disadvantages.
He possesses increased strength, is not sensitive to sunlight thanks to his human side.
It can circulate during the day, which makes it a "Day walker", a "day walker" or "diurnambulist" as it is said in Stephen Norrington's film.
Released in August 1998, the original film
Blade
, starring Wesley Snipes, was the first frankly successful transposition of a Marvel superhero on the big screen.
Quite far from the original comic-book, this first film remained famous for its memorable introductory sequence in the form of a vampiric rave party.
In a trendy nightclub atmosphere, an overexcited human being followed the one he coveted and who he doesn't know is a vampire.
Amid strobe lights and electro sound, he suddenly finds himself covered in fresh blood straight out of showerheads!
There follows a saber fight scene and a few detonations of shotguns throwing silver stakes: like Zorro, Blade has arrived without hurrying in his 60s Dodge Charger, equipped with ultraviolet headlights.
A nightmarish parallel world
A year before
Matrix
, Norrington's
Blade
(besides its superheroes wearing sunglasses at all times) will have been able to install the paranoid concept of a nightmarish parallel world ignored by ordinary mortals.
That of
Blade
is populated by vampires who live like a caste of the wealthy, discreet and on the fringes of the real world.
"
A war is going on out there,
" says Whistler, Blade's mentor played by Kris Kristofferson.
Blade, me and a few others are trying to make sure we don't spill it onto the streets
."
A clever mix of Asian films and vampire flicks, the first installment of
Blade
grossed $131 million at the worldwide box office.
The second signed by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, released in 2002 and will gross 155 million dollars.
And the third part, more conventional, brought in only $128 million...