The Harder They Fall and The Book of Clarence director Jeymes Samuel is rumored to be up for the Blade directing gig

UPDATE: Jeymes Samuel has released a statement denying the World of Reel’s Blade report. Samuel wrote, “I don’t know where these rumors start, but I am not in talks to do Blade with Marvel. I love me the Daywalker tho, I cannot wait to watch that joint. Sidebar: When Blade 2 came out I prayed they would make: ‘WESLEY SNIPES/CHRISTOPHER LEE – BLADE III.’ It didn’t happen sadly.“

The original article follows:

The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but we’ve passed the five year anniversary of that announcement, and we still haven’t seen a new Blade movie. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. Now, World of Reel has shared a rumor that Blade might finally be on track to production, with a script in place that everyone is satisfied with and a potential new director: Jeymes Samuel, a.k.a. The Bullitts, who previously directed the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and the Biblical dramedy The Book of Clarence. Samuel has been developing an adaptation of the Boom! Studios comic book Irredeemable for Netflix, but if all goes well, it sounds like Blade could become his next project.

World of Reel reports: “A source tells me Jeymes Samuel met for the Blade directing job and impressed the Marvel brass. … An online rumor, kickstarted because Mahershala Ali followed Jordan Peele’s account on Instagram, had some fans excited by a potential Peele-directed Blade. As far as I’ve been told, Peele was never part of any talks with Marvel to helm Blade. … More good news. It does look as though the latest Blade draft, written by Eric Pearson, might have finally satisfied everyone involved. Pearson is the sixth writer to have taken a crack at the script after Michael Green, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury, Beau DeMayo, and Nic Pizzolatto. The film was originally set in the 1920s, but will now take place in the present day.“

Director Yann Demange was attached to direct Blade for a while, and confirmed last November that the film will be rated R. Demange recently stepped away from the project, but it sounds like the movie will be rated R even without Demange at the helm. He was the second director to sign on for Blade and then drop it, following in the footsteps of Bassam Tariq. Will Samuel be the one to replace him?

We recently heard a rumor that Mahershala Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she has said that she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project.

What do you think of the idea that Jeymes Samuel could be the director of Blade? Have you seen The Harder They Fall and/or The Book of Clarence? Let us know by leaving a comment below.