Movies
Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Reboot Being Released Next Halloween Season?
Marvel is bringing Blade back to the big screen in the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali taking over the role. Stacy Osei-Kuffour (“Watchmen”) was recently brought on board to write the script, and last we heard, Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) was in talks to direct the character’s return to the big screen.
When can we expect to see it? Well, according to a tweet from the official (and verified) Marvel India account on Twitter this morning, Blade may be returning next Halloween…
In a graphic shared out by Marvel India, Blade is listed as releasing on October 7, 2022. That’s almost exactly one year from today, quite a bit earlier than the film was expected. It should be noted that every other date on this graphic, for films including Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, lines up with the confirmed U.S. release dates at this time.
More as we learn it.
The Wesley Snipes-starring Blade, meanwhile, came to 4K Ultra HD late last year.
The vampire-slaying character was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan, introduced in July 1973’s The Tomb of Dracula #10. Snipes played Blade across three films from 1998 through 2004, and he was played by Sticky Fingaz in a short-lived TV series.
It’s been sixteen years since Freddy Krueger was last seen in the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot movie starring Jackie Earle Haley, with complicated rights issues playing a role in the franchise’s complete and total silence over the past several years. Today, that silence ends.
According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter this afternoon, “Paramount Pictures has closed a deal for the U.S. rights to the original screenplay of A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
Paramount’s genre label Paramount Primal is behind the upcoming franchise reboot.
THR explains in further detail, “The U.S. rights are being licensed from the Craven estate, which includes Craven’s widow Iya Labunka and Craven’s son Jonathan Craven. The duo will produce the new iteration with Marc Toberoff, the attorney-turned-producer who specializes in copyright law. J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules will executive produce for Paramount Primal.”
“We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans,” Iya Labunka said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can’t wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theatre – around the campfire of today – as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.”
“We can’t remember a time before we were fans of Wes Craven,” said Lifshitz and Margules. “The fact that Iya and Jonathan have entrusted us with this opportunity to help usher a new story into this world is an honor beyond words. We look forward to working alongside them to bring a terrifying new nightmare to audiences everywhere, and to welcome Freddy home.”
The Elm Street franchise had of course previously had a home at New Line Cinema/Warner Bros., but the Craven Estate was able to regain the rights to the original screenplay. THR notes, “New Line retains the international rights to Nightmare on Elm Street.”
Freddy Krueger’s upcoming return is said to be “set in the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street, based on the original screenplay.” No further details are available at this time.
Will Robert Englund be returning one more time? Stay tuned for updates.
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