By Though mostly known for his work on “X-Men ’97” and Netflix’s “The Witcher”, the former title’s ex-showrunner Beau DeMayo also famously took a shot at writing Marvel Studios’ troubled “Blade” film.
That movie has been in development for years and has seen a half dozen writers come and go including the likes of Michael Green (“Logan”), Nic Pizzolatto (“True Detective”), Stacy Osei-Kuffour (HBO’s “Watchmen”) and Michael Starrbury (“The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete”).
At last report Eric Pearson is penning the latest draft and the studio seems to have finally come up with a script they’re happy with. For a while there though, they appeared to be floundering.
In new postings on X, DeMayo confirms that’s the case and says he’s wondered why it has been so difficult for the studio to come up with a compelling premise:
“Take a John Wick movie. Give mobsters fangs. Swap Keanu for Ali, hand him a sword, not a daughter who makes him fret over swinging the hero’s name. ‘Wick’ cost $20 million to make. Add $10 million for vampire/Darkhold magic VFX, you have $30-40 million Marvel movie. I don’t get why it’s been so hard. Studio’s broken.”
He adds that in his three months on the project he wrote three drafts and a dozen outlines for it. He then did a deep dive on X going into the best idea he came up with:
“My favorite was a “The Raid”-style treatment where Blade finds himself defending a rundown tenement of humans from Varney’s vamp hordes until daylight.
[It] took place over one night Blade learns from tenant Jericho Drumm that Varney’s attacking because the female tenant who Blade sorta fancies has been magically impregnated with Lilith by tenants who’re secretly Darkhold Cultists. Think 30 Days of Night meets Rosemary’s Baby.”
Mahershala Ali and Mia Goth remain attached to star in the film which has yet to announce a director following the exit of Yann Demange. Locations in Mexico, the United Kingdom and in Atlanta are expected to be utilised for the shoot.
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