Marvel Making An Enormous Cut To Upcoming Blade Movie, Removing Major Character?
Noted Marvel leaker Jeff Sneider revealed that Kit Harrington's Black Knight has been removed from Blade.
If we report good news about Marvel’s Blade, it will be the first time in the film’s troubled production. From comparisons to Underworld, to having to hire a new director, Mahershala Ali’s debut film as the MCU’s resident vampire hunter seems to be cursed. On the latest The Hot Mic Podcast, Jeff Sneider shared a new scoop on the latest change to Blade: removing Kit Harrington’s Black Knight from the film.
Introduced in Eternals as Dane Whitman, Harrington’s character was supposed to have a larger role moving forward in the MCU. During a post-credits scene, he’s seen reaching out for the Ebony Blade when Ali’s voice interrupts him with a warning against picking up the cursed weapon. The implication is that there’s a connection between the Black Knight and Blade, which would be further explored in the latter’s solo film, but that’s allegedly no longer the case.
Sneider discusses, in detail, the latest news he’s heard from behind the scenes at Marvel, including the trimming of Blade’s already lean script to just 87 pages. Describing the script as “leaner and meaner,” Sneider says that Kit Harrington‘s complete removal from the movie helped trim the fat. While he may still show up in the finished film, if he does, it will be significantly reduced from the original draft and far removed from the original plans for the character.
Though losing the fan-favorite actor is bad news for his legion of fans, yet another film disregards Eternals, which is perhaps even more damning for the often-overlooked MCU film. Since the 2021 ensemble piece was released, fans have been looking for references in other Marvel projects, as a large god-like being sticking out of the ocean would be hard to miss. Blade would be the first film to tie in directly, and now that won’t happen.
In other news, which might be considered good regarding Marvel’s modern-day Ishtar in Blade, Mahershala Ali is allegedly happy with the new script. Months ago, we reported that the star was very frustrated with the script, but now he’s on board with the new direction, which might also include another major change. Blade’s daughter, supposedly a major part of the movie, is also potentially being re-cast, with Sneider mentioning the studio was “re-casting the 14-year-old.”
How much of Blade’s daughter is included in the final product is unknown, with earlier reports stating that Alex is the main character and would ultimately replace her dad by the movie’s end. Given that the Ebony Blade was supposedly also to be a major part of the initial script, it’s a mystery as to what the released picture will be like when it’s finally released in 2024 (or later).
Does Marvel have buyer’s remorse over promoting Mahershala Ali from the villain of Luke Cage to the big leagues of the MCU with Blade? We don’t know, but every report about the film has been largely negative, which stands out compared to the mostly positive news from previous films, including Black Panther 2 and Multiverse of Madness. The MCU is in the middle of a disastrous slide following the poor showing of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantmania, and it sure sounds like Blade will not be the savior that the franchise needs.
