‘Blade’ Taps ‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto to Pen the Script

After originally going on hold following the departure of its director Bassam Tariq, the MCU’s Blade film has finally spread its wings and escaped development hell. The Mahershala Ali-led project has now found a new writer in acclaimed True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto per The Hollywood Reporter. He’ll get to work with the script currently written by Michael Starrbury which sources close to the situation say Pizzolatto has been tinkering with over the past few weeks.

It’s fitting that Pizzolatto be brought on board Blade considering he has a connection with its lead. Ali prominently starred in Season 3 of the creative’s anthology series, earning himself an Emmy nomination in the process. Pizzolatto has a long resume as a creative, however, stemming back to his days as a novelist and short story writer before dabbling in screenwriting and moving on to HBO. He’s been nominated three times for an Emmy for True Detective, though he also has plenty of experience on the big screen, writing The Magnificent Seven and, more recently, the Jake Gyllenhaal-led The Guilty. Just before he was brought into the Marvel fold, it was also revealed that his new Western series will actually be a remake of The Magnificent Seven for the small screen.

Pizzolatto joins a creative team that brought in French filmmaker Yann Demange in place of Tariq. The series has also been beefing up its cast recently, adding modern scream queen Mia Goth to the fold coming off another strong performance in Brandon Cronenberg‘s Infinity Pool. Delroy Lindo will also add some extra star power to the project. Assuming everything else goes off without a hitch, filming should begin late next month in Atlanta.

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More History on Blade in Comics and On-Screen

The prospect of a new Blade film under the MCU fold is an exciting one for fans eager to see this vampire story on-screen once again. Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan brought the half-mortal, half-immortal vampire hunter to life in comics back in 1973 as part of The Tomb of Dracula No. 10. Most fans will likely remember him as memorably portrayed by Wesley Snipes, however, making fans fall in love with the daywalker across a trilogy of films in the early 2000s. There are some concerns about whether the MCU will let the film go beyond a PG-13 rating, but with a talented group of acclaimed creatives and stars coming together, it’s one of the key projects to keep an eye on in the world of Marvel in the near future.

Blade is currently slated to release on September 6, 2024. While we wait for more details, check out the 4K trailer for the original film starring Snipes below.