Marvel’s Blade movie gets promising update

With Yann Demange in the director’s chair, Marvel teams up with the creator and architect of True Detective, Nic Pizzolatto, to get the script of Blade just right.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the film trade broke the scoop that the auteur of the HBO anthology crime drama series, True Detective, Nic Pizolatto, has been tapped to take a stab at the screenplay of Blade currently drafted by Emmy-nominated screenwriter, Michael Starrbury.

Who is Nic Pizzolatto?

The novelist and short story writer before making his transition to screenwriting, was a literature professor who also taught fiction writing at the University of Chicago, the University of Arkansas, and DePauw University just to name a few. Pizzolatto published his first novel, Galveston, before he branched out into TV. It was this novel that began the genealogy of what became True Detective.

The current status of Marvel’s Blade

Back in April, Mia Goth, the former model who made her acting debut in the art film Nymphomaniac and gained recognition in the films, The Survivalist, and Emma, was cast in a role in Blade yet to be revealed. Although one of the prominent rumors of who Goth could be playing is Lilith although which version is up in the air for one of those incarnations is the daughter of Dracula whereas the other is an evil sorceress who pits against Ghost Rider.

Back in November 2022, Deadline reported that French native, Yann Demange, was tapped to helm Blade as director in place of Bassam Tariq who dropped out due to recurring delays to the production schedule. At that point, many writers including Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Beau DeMayo, and Starrbury have taken a crack at the film’s script before the True Detective writer/creator.

When is Blade filming and going to release?

Given Blade is now crewing up and the cast is being filled, it’s presumed Pizzolatto is merely doing punch-ups to Starrbury’s draft, which according to THR has been working for at least more than three weeks now. Shooting is expected to begin late this month in May and is set for release on Sept. 6, 2024.

It stars Mahershala Ali, Delroy Lindo, Aaron Pierre, Milan Ray, and Mia Goth. This is set to be the second collaboration between Ali and Pizzolatto since the third season of True Detective in 2019.

What are your thoughts on Nic Pizzolatto, writer and creator of True Detective, coming in for scripting duties on Blade? Sound off in the comments!