Marvel Studios has shut down pre-production on its Mahershala Ali-led vampire thriller “Blade” ahead of filming which was to begin next month in Atlanta.
The project becomes the first tentpole movie impacted by the strike, with cast and crew members being notified this afternoon.
The series recently hired “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto to work on the script, but a source for THR says “time simply ran out.”
The studio will restart the production once the strike is over. It marks the second pause the project has gone through following the first which happened when original director Bassam Tariq abruptly exited just weeks ahead of filming. Yann Demange subsequently took over as director.
Despite that project being shut down, those already in production are continuing with the film “Captain America: New World Order” and the TV series “Agatha: Coven of Chaos” both currently shooting in Atlanta, whilst “Wonder Man” is shooting in Los Angeles.
“Deadpool 3” is still on track to film later this month in London, and “Thunderbolts” remains scheduled to begin shooting in Atlanta in June. In addition, “Fantastic Four” is reportedly eying a January 2024 start date in London, whilst “Venom 3” will shoot in the UK later this year.
The strike is different for the studio, which usually has a writer on set to rework things if needed.
Source: THR
Source : https://www.darkhorizons.com/marvel-shuts-down-blade-pre-production/
