2020 has been a strange year, with COVID-19 delaying every blockbuster imaginable (well, aside from box office "flop" Tenet), and conventions like the San Diego Comic-Con forced to go virtual.
It was during last year's Comic-Con that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige brought out Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali and announced that he would play the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Blade. Since then, we've heard nothing about the project, and don't really know whether it's destined for the big screen or another Disney+ TV series.
Well, in a piece shared by The Hollywood Reporter looking at how Hollywood agents are navigating the complexities of balancing the demand for diverse voices, there's an unexpected Blade update.
"Current projects that studios are hoping to populate with Black behind-the-camera talent include Marvel's Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali, which is looking for writers," the trade reveals, "and MGM's Sammy Davis Jr. biopic, which Lena Waithe is producing."
As well as confirming that Blade will indeed be a movie, this news also reveals where the project is in terms of development. Clearly, it's still very early days despite that big casting announcement, and with no writers in place, it's unlikely the studio has zeroed in on a director just yet.
Despite that, this is definitely a step in the right direction for the movie, and one that hopefully means it will begin to take shape as we move into 2021.