Tag: Blade

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Blade’ Director Bassam Tariq To Contribute As A Writer On The Marvel Reboot

We’ve been somewhat kept in the dark about Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot as the project is currently in development stages with two-time Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage, Moonlight, Green Book) attached to play a new MCU incarnation of vampire hunter, Eric Brooks. Trade reports suggested that filming could begin as early as next year.

The Ronin has learned that director Bassam Tariq is expected to be involved with the writing process alongside previously announced screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen, Hunters), however, how much he’ll be contributing isn’t terribly clear at the moment.

Tariq wrote both the story and screenplay for his buzzed-about drama Mogul Mowgli starring Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, Venom, Sound of Metal).

It isn’t uncommon for Marvel directors to get involved with a script after a screenwriter has been hired, there are some recent examples with Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings), Sam Raimi (Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness), and Chloe Zhao (Eternals).

The filmmaker has already hinted to collaborative working environment with Ali and Osei-Kuffour, praising the two in interviews, including while speaking with IndieWire.

“What’s exciting about the film that we’re making is [there] hasn’t been a canon for Blade, as we’re reading through the comics and everything. Him being a daywalker is the one thing that’s been established, and you know we can’t deny what Wesley Snipes did, which was he basically got this whole ball rolling. A Black man created the superhero world that we’re in, that’s just the truth. For me to now be working with somebody as talented and a juggernaut as Mahershala Ali, and the writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour, I’m just so — I’m so honored to be working with real Black juggernauts and Black talent. For me to just be with them in this room and listen and learn as I build this out, it’s really an honor.”

Blade fans like myself are extremely curious what this new incarnation is going to look like and if they’ll ultimately bring in The Vampire Nation to the MCU with a mature franchise or water it down for a family-friendly audience. At the very least, continuing this idea they are this global entity while also have their own ancient texts and language.

Despite having most of the key players hired, Marvel Studios has yet to give Blade an official release date. Hopefully, they’ll announce one before the end of the year.

BLADE – A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Blade’: Director Bassam Tariq Praises Wesley Snipes/Original Film Alongside Reboot’s Black Talent

Not too long ago, director Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) confirmed to The Playlist he had signed-on to direct the new Blade reboot for Marvel Studios and kept coy about his plans for the Daywalker.

“Character is very important for me. I don’t think of genre, I think of character. It’s not so boxed in as people imagine it to be [working with Marvel Studios]. It’s quite exciting. And I think the reality is there is no Blade canon, you know? If you ever read the comics, they’re always changing…Unfortunately, the [comic book series] never lasted that long.”

If you’re not familiar with the behind-the-scenes development of Blade, star Wesley Snipes worked closely with director Stephen Norrington and screenwriter David S. Goyer shaping the exploitation comic book character for the big screen.

While speaking with IndieWire last month, the Pakistani-American filmmaker praised not only what Wesley Snipes did as a creative force on the original films, but also highlighting the work that star Mahershala Ali and screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen, Hunters) are doing as fellow collaborators on the reboot.

“What’s exciting about the film that we’re making is [there] hasn’t been a canon for Blade, as we’re reading through the comics and everything. Him being a daywalker is the one thing that’s been established, and you know we can’t deny what Wesley Snipes did, which was he basically got this whole ball rolling. A Black man created the superhero world that we’re in, that’s just the truth. For me to now be working with somebody as talented and a juggernaut as Mahershala Ali, and the writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour, I’m just so — I’m so honored to be working with real Black juggernauts and Black talent. For me to just be with them in this room and listen and learn as I build this out, it’s really an honor.”

It’ll be interesting if they’ll consider bringing The Vampire Nation to the MCU and we still don’t know if the R-rated action franchise will be turned into something more family-friendly with the studio’s standard PG-13 rating. Then again, Marvel has confirmed Deadpool 3 will be R-rated, giving us hope projects like Blade might also keep it’s mature aspects.

Outside of trade reports of Blade shooting next year, we don’t have an official release date (will likely be announced soon) or a supporting cast that will be assembled around Mahershala Ali.

BLADE – A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.

SOURCE: INDIEWIRE

Posted on in Film News, News

Four Mystery Marvel Studios Movies Set For Release In 2024

Yesterday, Disney announced four new release dates for untitled Marvel Studios feature films in 2024. Those spots being etched-out for February, May, July, and November.

There are now seven release dates on the schedule for unnamed projects that will likely be named at the next big Marvel Studios presentation something that is likely around the corner.

However, we have an idea what at least four of those options might be with Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four reboot, Bassam Tariq’s Blade reboot, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, and Anthony Mackie’s Captain America 4 at various stages of development.

Below is a rundown of the current Marvel Studios schedule for films between 2021 to 2024.

  • ETERNALS – November 5, 2021
  • SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – December 17, 2021
  • DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS – March 25, 2021
  • THOR: LOVE & THUNDER – May 6, 2022
  • BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – July 8, 2022
  • THE MARVELS – November 11, 2022
  • ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA – February 17, 2023
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 – May 5, 2023
  • TBA – July 28, 2023
  • TBA – October 6, 2023
  • TBA – November 10, 2023
  • TBA – February 16, 2024
  • TBA – May 3, 2024
  • TBA – July 26, 2024
  • TBA – November 8, 2024
  • FANTASTIC FOUR (DIRECTOR JON WATTS) – TBA
  • BLADE (DIRECTOR BASSAM TARIQ) – TBA
  • DEADPOOL 3 – TBA
  • CAPTAIN AMERICA 4 – TBA
  • X-MEN – TBA

We could easily theorize that some other options might include their X-Men reboot, Shang-Chi 2, Eternals 2, Black Widow 2 (focusing on Yelena Belova), Avengers 5, Secret Wars, Spider-Man 4 (if Sony and Disney can expand their deal), Black Panther 3, Ant-Man 4, Doctor Strange 3, Thor 5, and Young Avengers.

Some other projects I’d love to see be considered for the film side such as Squadron Supreme, Captain Carter, Black Knight, The Invaders, Nova, Adam Warlock, Alpha Flight, Agents of Atlas, Namor (if they’re able to make it), Ka-Zar, Killraven, and Red Wolf.

As mentioned above, we’re likely on the cusp of a new Marvel Studios presentation that will likely give us an idea of what else is coming to both Disney+ (Disney+ Day in November) and the big screen in the future.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Blade’: Bassam Tariq Confirms He’s Signed On To Direct The Marvel Reboot

Not too long ago it was reported that director Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) was the frontrunner to helm Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali. The director has confirmed this, but also that he’s signed on.

During a chat with The Playlist Podcast, Tariq talked a little bit about screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Hunters, Watchmen), praising her and working on Blade.

“Yes, I can confirm I am directing Blade, Marvel is letting me do it.”

“I didn’t think [‘Blade’] was going to happen, just to be very honest. I’m honored and it’s a privilege, but I’m here in service of Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who is the incredible writer that is writing the film…She’s just a phenomenal presence and a juggernaut in her own right. And for Mahershala [Ali]. For me, it’s really just working in their service. [Marvel] takes big swings, you know?…I can’t say anything about it, but I’m just so excited for what we’re doing.”

“Character is very important for me. I don’t think of genre, I think of character. It’s not so boxed in as people imagine it to be [working with Marvel Studios]. It’s quite exciting. And I think the reality is there is no ‘Blade’ canon, you know? If you ever read the comics, they’re always changing…Unfortunately, the [comic book series] never lasted that long.”

Eric Brooks aka Blade is a vampire hunter, that happens to be half-vampire himself and allows him to be immune sunlight/silver making him stronger than a majority of adversaries. The main antagonists for Blade are The Vampire Nation, the secretive group of shadowy figures that have a stranglehold on positions of power in human society and have sects all over the world.

BLADE – A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Loki production designer Kasra Farahani is considered for the production team. A release or cast have yet to be announced by Marvel, we’ll have to wait and see about that information.

SOURCE: THE PLAYLIST

Posted on in Features

‘Loki’ Production Designer Kasra Farahani Would Be Perfect For ‘Blade’

Marvel’s Blade reboot goes back to 2013 when The Hollywood Reporter revealed that a script (after the rights reverted from New Line Cinema) was being worked in-house at the studio as part of their writing program alongside Ms. Marvel (would later turn into Captain Marvel). Six years later and it was announced that two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Predators, Alita: Battle Angel, Luke Cage, True Detectives) would be starring in a brand new movie, In turn, officially rebooting the Blade franchise that was launched back in 1998 with Wesley Snipes.

This year it was revealed by trades that writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen, Hunters) is currently writing the film’s screenplay and Deadline first reported over the summer that Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) was the frontrunner to direct the reboot.

An excellent creative combination.

Eric Brooks aka Blade is a vampire hunter, that happens to be half-vampire himself and allows him to be immune sunlight/silver making him stronger than a majority of adversaries. The main antagonists for Blade are The Vampire Nation, the secretive group of shadowy figures that have a stranglehold on positions of power in human society and have sects all over the world.

With Marvel’s increased budgets, it allows this new incarnation of Blade became more of a globetrotting franchise and we could see vampires in various countries, we’ve seen Asian vampires teased in the original and it would be neat to see Blade in Japan, Hong Kong or….even they newly established island nation of Madripoor.

I would love to see Loki production designer Kasra Farahani work on Blade as he’s someone who I think could be the perfect person to help bring the world of the Vampire Nation to the modern MCU.

He brought such a cinematic value to Loki as it was cited that Faranhani was influenced by Mad Men and Ridley Scott’s benchmark sci-fi film Blade Runner. Kasra previously contributed concept art to Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, Star Trek into Darkness, and even the unmade BioShock movie (has Guillermo del Toro feel to it) for director Gore Verbinski.

It wouldn’t be the first time that someone from Disney+ series making the jump to the feature films as Loki cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw is officially working on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, giving that film a striking visual palate.

The Ronin has spotted that director Bassam Tariq (hasn’t officially closed his deal) is now following Farahani on Instagram, which could suggest there is a shot the production designer may indeed end up working on the Blade reboot, if Tariq signs on to direct.

You can check out of Kasra Farahani’s excellent work on the Loki series below.

BLADE – A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Shang-Chi’: Kevin Feige Admits Marvel Had Been Dreaming Of Making A Movie For Two Decades

Simu Liu is about to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Shang-Chi. Some might assume that it was only in the last five or so years that Marvel Studios was itching to make Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings. That’s really not the cast at all according to the studio.

While on the red carpet for the film’s premiere, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige confirmed to Variety that during his time at Marvel (joining in 2000) they had been trying to make a Shang-Chi movie for the last two decades.

“We’ve been thinking and dreaming about making a Shang-Chi movie for the entirety of the two decades that I’ve been at Marvel.”

In 2001, Blade director Stephen Norrington was reportedly attached for a feature film of Shang-Chi alongside an early incarnation of Ghost Rider too. He quietly retired after making 20th Century Fox’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and headaches he had during that production. Norrington had originally wanted to cast Jet Li as Blade villain Deacon Frost but the actor was busy shooting Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon 4. You can tell from Blade that the filmmaker was heavily influenced by Hong Kong action movies with their use of wire-work, a year before The Matrix.

DreamWorks attempted to get things going again in 2003, as Variety reported they had hired Woo-ping Yuen (True Legend) to direct and script from Band of Brothers writer Bruce McKenna. Woo-ping Yuen had been the fight choreographer for The Matrix, Kill Bill Vol.2, Kung Fu Hustle, The Forbidden Kingdom, The Grandmaster, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Oscar-winner Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi) boarded as a producer in 2004, a year after his Hulk movie was released. However, the rights to Shang-Chi eventually reverted back to Marvel.

Even before that, a Shang-Chi television series was being cooked up at Marvel.

Inverse was able to speak with former Marvel Productions CEO and President Margaret Loesch, who revealed that Stan Lee met with Bruce Lee’s son Brandon Lee (Showdown In Little Tokyo, The Crow, Rapid Fire) at the Marvel offices for a potential Shang-Chi television series in the 80s. The late Bruce Lee and his film Enter The Dragon had been the template for the martial arts superhero. Sadly, Brandon had a tragic death as he was killed during the filming of The Crow.

You have to really question what took them so long to get here, but Ike Perlmutter was notoriously dismissive of diverse projects at Marvel until he was ultimately pulled off the film division by Disney, upon the request of Kevin Feige. Suddenly, we started to see movies spring up like Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Blade once Perlmutter was nix from the film side of things.

Shang-Chi hits theaters exclusively on September 3.

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS – Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Joining Simu Liu in the Marvel cast includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, and experience it in theaters on September 3, 2021.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Features

Marvel Studios’ Collection Of Horror Characters Could Rival The Universal Monsters

Universal Pictures once attempted to copy the Marvel Cinematic Universe with their horror franchise Dark Universe, that was expected to give the studio a PG-13 cinematic universe centered around their legacy horror characters, The Universal Monsters. When Tom Cruise’s Mummy reboot flopped they pivoted away from a connective group of films and seem to be instead focusing on movie by movie after The Invisible Man.

Marvel Studios is actually in a perfect position to do what Universal struggled to do, making their own horror universe within the MCU with both films and Disney+ series. We’re apparently going to see a huge push on the live-action side with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse, Mahershala Ali’s Blade reboot, Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight series, and plenty more things that have yet to officially announced.

There are plenty of characters that are assumed to be part of Marvel’s horror universe such as Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), Blade (Eric Brooks), Moon Knight (Marc Spector), Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), Werewolf By Night (Jack Russell), Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Elsa Bloodstone, Abraham Whistler, Hannibal King, Frank Drake, Quincy Harker, Rachel van Helsing, Vlad Dracula, Baron Blood (John Falsworth), Deacon Frost, Lilith Drake, Lenore DeCade, Mephisto, Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom), The Devil’s Daughter (Satana Hellstrom), Mother of Demons (Lilith), Glyph (Nadeen Hassan), Vampire By Night (Nina Prince), Warwolf (Martin Renya), The Living Mummy (N’Kantu), Frankenstien’s Monster, Manphibian, and Man-Thing (Theodore Sallis).

But there could be even more characters mined for Marvel’s horror corner of the MCU.

The animated series What If…? is bringing Marvel Zombies to the MCU and there is a character that could easily make the jump to live-action to represent the zombie faction.

That is Simon William Garth aka Zombie, who had his own run of comic books with Tales of The Zombie. The character that was brought back from the dead using voodoo magic has a direct connection to Doctor Strange pal Brother Voodoo and could easily partner up with the occult hero.

Zombie is also a member of the Legion of Monsters alongside folks such as The Living Zombie, Frankenstein’s Monster, and others. Given the popularity of the zombie sub-genre with The Walking Dead (alongside spinoffs) and Zack Snyder recently returning to the genre with Army of The Dead (will also direct a sequel), it’s a no-brainier for Marvel to give audiences/fans a zombie character.

There seem to be strong indications that we’ll see Marvel move forward with a new Ghost Rider project, however, we don’t know if they’ll simply focus on a single character like Johnny Blaze or cover the multiple incarnations of the character.

There is a new Native American version, Kushala, an Apache woman from the 1800s that is possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance and became the Sorcerer Supreme of her era in attempt to cure herself. She goes by the name Demon Rider.

Adding Kushala could allow Marvel Studios to bring in a more diverse Ghost Rider to the live-action side of things and give us a solid Native American character that could get her own solo projects alongside someone like western hero William Talltrees aka Red Wolf. We’ve also seen Marvel use plenty of new characters lately as they slowly assemble the Young Avengers roster.

Speaking of Native American characters, there is someone that has a connection to Canadian indigenous lore that could make for a threat in the future and that is Wendigo.

The Wendigo is a stark white beast that is the manifestation of a curse for anyone who commits an act of cannibalism in the Canadian North Woods. A darker origin than normal for Marvel and anyone can be given the curse.

First appearing as a Hulk villain, the character has also clashed with Wolverine, X-Men, and Alpha Flight in the comics. Wendigo is sort of a mirror image of Walter Langkowski aka Sasquatch, a mutant member of Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight.

Taj Nital was an Indian (Muslim but designed as Sikh) vampire hunter part of Quincy Harker’s team Dracula Hunters from The Tomb of Dracula comics, who dedicated his life to hunting vampires after his son Adri was turned and he had to kill him.

A friend of Blade, Taj is turned into a vampire by the monstrous Varnae aka Lord of Vampires that tragically had to be slain by Blade.

The Blade reboot will hopefully bring back The Vampire Nation and having vampires/hunters from Asian countries would help establish that their tentacles are international, something teased with the original Blade movie from 1998 showcasing diverse members of The House of Erebus.

Posted on in News

UPDATE: Bad Egg Productions Confirmed As Marvel Studios Project

As part of a group of LLCs that The Ronin first reported on back in May (when we couldn’t confirm if they were connected to Marvel), we’ve been able to confirm that Bad Egg Productions is indeed for a Marvel Studios project either streaming or for film. There is an assumption that Bad Egg could be referring to Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, Mahershala Ali’s Blade or more of stretch might be an unannounced Thunderbolts project.

Deadpool 3 has screenwriters for the R-rated sequel while Blade is seemingly about to announce Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) as it’s director as he’s reportedly the studio’s front runner to helm the action-horror reboot.

UPDATE: A production grid has made it’s way to The Cosmic Circus, as the outlet claims after our own post that Bad Egg Productions is the upcoming Ironheart series and that the Disney+ show won’t shoot until April 2022.

Here is a rundown of other recent LLCs at Marvel Studios we’ve been able to uncover for a multitude of MCU projects that the studio has yet to formally announced by Kevin Feige or Disney. A new update from Feige is all but assured to announce what these new projects could be, officially.

  • MAGLEV TRAIN PRODUCTIONS (WAKANDA DISNEY+ SERIES)
  • ON YOUR MARK PRODUCTIONS
  • BAD EGG PRODUCTIONS
  • CANTINA PRODUCTIONS
  • BATTLE ANYONE PRODUCTIONS
  • ACID POP PRODUCTIONS 
  • NATURAL HISTORY PRODUCTIONS (DISNEY+ SERIES)
  • SPEYSIDE PRODUCTIONS 

Another LLC was picked-up by Murphy’s Multiverse, which is Richmond Street Productions that they claim might be connected to a Ghost Rider project. We can independently confirm the LLC is indeed at Marvel Studios but remains to be seen if it’s indeed Ghost Rider, there is a good chance it is.

Ionic Productions (Monica Rambeau, Wonder Man or Rogue?) and Old Guard Productions (Winter Guard or Red Guardian related?) are two more LLCs The Ronin has uncovered recently and we are still trying to confirm they are Marvel Studios projects. Stay tuned as we update in the future.

There is a likelihood these projects will shoot between 2022-2024. This list excludes Season 2 titles on Disney+ such as Loki, What If…?, and Ms. Marvel (The Ronin first reported on a second season).

Posted on in Film News

Kevin Feige Says Marvel Studios Team Recently Met To Establish Rules For The Multiverse

Last week, the Season 1 finale of Loki introduced audiences to Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains and confirming our support of rumors that Majors would appear in the show. His variant, Kang The Conqueror, will be seen next in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, fully establishing that the Nexus Event is here and that the Multiverse is truly underway. We’ll see this explored in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, as the title would suggest, but the studio will have to make sure they’re not overusing it or being too loose with it too often making up things as they go along.

It sounds like Marvel Studios is going to be making sure to set rules for The Multiverse as stated by Kevin Feige to the D23 Inside Disney Podcast (via The Direct). Revealing he had just met with the Marvel team about exactly that.

“As you indicated before we started recording, the multiverse is coming up in a big way. There’s interconnectivity there that people have already started to see and suss out and I had a meeting this morning with the whole broad Marvel Studios team going through the multiverse and the rules of the multiverse and exactly how to really deliver on the excitement surrounding the multiverse,” studio head Kevin Feige told D23 Inside Disney.

It’ll be fun to see multiple versions of Kang and the other variants to become the main antagonists of many Phase 4 movies only to be defeated and return in the next project, over and over. Wouldn’t it be nutty if Kang suddenly showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Hopefully, the Multiverse comes to a conclusion like with the Infinity Saga and that could with something as epic as Secret Wars, The Russo Brothers have been teasing their interest in the massive crossover event film as a follow-up to Avengers: Endgame it would also allow them to play with X-Men and Fantastic Four characters among others.

I’d personally like to see Kang assemble his own team from various points of the Multiverse putting together a version of Squadron Supreme to combat the heroes/villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The characters are cheeky knock-offs of the Justice League and placing them against MCU teams could end up a version of Marvel vs. DC without the headache of trying to get two studios to agree upon all the details.

SOURCE: D23 INSIDE DISNEY PODCAST

Posted on in Film News

Kevin Smith Was Refused Access To Werewolf By Night On ‘Howard The Duck’ Because Marvel Studios Had Movie Plans For Him

Once upon a time, Marvel Television was being overseen by Jeph Loeb and director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) was hired to make a mature cartoon series focused on Howard The Duck. However, the project was ultimately trashed leading to Smith to focus on his Netflix cartoon series Masters of The Universe: Revelation.

Marvel Television was re-branded as Marvel TV Studios with Loeb exiting the company because Kevin Feige became Marvel’s chief creative officer giving him complete control over all divisions, including television and animation. The M.O.D.O.K. animated show using stop-motion was the only thing that really survived the mass cancellations of the Marvel television shows to make way for hard-canon stuff heading to Disney+ starting with WandaVision.

Smith revealed on his podcast Fatman Beyond that he asked to use Werewolf By Night (Marvel’s big werewolf character), but his request was denied by Jeph Loeb because Marvel Studios (the film division) had plans for the character. Back then, Marvel Television had to get approval to use certain characters that the film division was going to use.

“In my head, as I started building my season, I was like, ‘Alright, Episode 5, Werewolf By Night.’ The idea of our story was that Howard was trapped here and he was trying to get pages of the Darkhold, which would allow him to go back. There’s Howard as I’m laying it out and then I go into Jeph and told him what I wanted to do, and that’s when they said ‘You can’t use Werewolf By Night,’ and I asked why? They said the movie division was using him.”

Jack Russell aka Werewolf By Night has been seen in animation but there was once a live-action version that many people might not be aware of. He appeared in a deleted scene from Blade Trinity, however, as you can see below the scene was so bad (like the rest of the movie) it was abandoned. It invokes memories of the deleted scene from the original Blade, where director Stephen Norrington played Morbius The Living Vampire as a way to set him up as the villain of the sequel only for that scene to be cut (Sony Pictures owned the rights) and Guillermo del Toro going in another direction with Blade II.

It’ll be interesting to see what project Russell could end up showing up in as things like the Moon Knight series and Blade reboot are helping to introduce the horror corner of Marvel Comics to the Marvel Cinematic universe.

SOURCE: FATMAN BEYOND