Aaron Pierre departs from the upcoming Marvel film, ‘Blade’

The “Genius” actor is the latest member to announce his departure from the vampire action movie that initially starred Wesley Snipes in 1998.

Aaron Pierre is the latest member to depart from Marvel’s upcoming film, “Blade.”

The actor revealed his exit to Variety during the NAACP Image Awards red carpet on Saturday.

“Early on, there were conversations,” Pierre said. “As the project evolved, I’m no longer part of that — attached.” 

The forthcoming superhero film stars Mahershala Ali as the vampire hunter. Pierre, originally slated to appear alongside Ali, and his role had yet to be announced before his departure from the film. Variety reported that Ali is the only cast member that has since been confirmed for the film.

Pierre’s exit follows other past departures of directors and writers who left the project during its development phase. According to Variety, director Bassam Tariq and screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour originally joined the feature film but left two months before production started. The pair was soon replaced by Yann Demange as the movie’s director, with Michael Green writing the script. 

Despite the rotation between directors and writers, Ali told Entertainment Weekly in December 2023 that he remains “encouraged with the project’s direction.

“I’m sincerely encouraged in terms of where things are at and who’s on board and who’s leading the way as far as the writing of the script and the directing and all that,” Ali said. “So that’s the extent of what I can tell you.”

Pierre, who recently starred as Malcolm X in the drama series “Genius,” also expressed his excitement about his future projects, which will be released in the coming months. They include “‘Rebel Ridge” with Jeremy Saulnier and “The Lion King” prequel with Barry Jenkins.

“All things that are coming out this year that myself and the team are deeply excited about and can’t wait to share with the world — and have people engage with it and experience it in whatever way they feel fit.”

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