Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Lands ‘Lovecraft Country’ Director Yann Demanage, Plus An Emmy-Nominated Writer

After years without a lot of news, Marvel’s upcoming Blade film then went and lost its director, Bassam Tariq. The search for a replacement took a couple of months, but a more than adequate replacement has been found. THR reports that Yann Demange will step in as director, joined by a new writer, as well.

Demange is best known for directing the acclaimed war film, ’71, as well as the Matthew McConaughey drama White Boy Rick, and the pilot of HBO’s Lovecraft Country.

Joining Demange is writer Michael Starrbury, who earned an Emmy nomination for penning an episode of Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us. He also wrote the film The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, which is when he first came to my attention, and episodes of the Netflix series Colin in Black & White.

Marvel’s Blade reboot still has Mahershala Ali in the title role of the vampire-hunting hero.  That much hasn’t changed, and Blade is still expected to open on September 6th 2024.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.