Mahershala Ali’s Blade film has suffered another setback with the departure of its director Yann Demange.

The Lovecraft Country director left the movie amicably a while ago, leaving Marvel bosses in search of a new filmmaker to helm their long-gestating project, according to The Wrap.

This marks the second time a director has left Blade, as Demange was drafted in to replace Mogul Mowgli’s Bassam Tariq after his exit.

According to the outlet, the latest draft of the script is being written by Marvel veteran writer Eric Pearson, who recently worked on Fantastic Four. Previous drafts were penned by Nic Pizzolatto and Michael Green.

Blade has suffered several setbacks since it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. It was originally scheduled to go into production in late 2022 but this plan was scuppered when Tariq left over creative differences. The project was delayed once again with the writers’ strike last year.

Ali, who made a voice cameo in a post-credits scene in 2021’s Eternals, is still attached to star as the titular vampire hunter, who was previously portrayed by Wesley Snipes in the Blade trilogy between 1998 to 2004.

According to an insider, Marvel bosses would rather get the story right instead of rushing it out. Their next four films – Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four – are either completed or in production so they can take their time with Blade, which currently has a release date of November 2025.

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