The Blade movie has been repeatedly delayed. The would-be lead keeps rejecting the scripts as not what he signed up for.

Now we find out his objection to all the scripts: He signed up to star as the lead in a male-oriented action fantasy, but all of Marvel’s scripts make the main characters, get this, Stronk Diverse Women.

With Mahershala Ali signed on for the eponymous role of a vampire, things looked promising for a 2023 release date. But the project has gone through at least five writers, two directors and one shutdown six weeks before production. One person familiar with the script permutations says the story at one point morphed into a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons. Blade was relegated to the fourth lead, a bizarre idea considering that the studio had two-time Oscar winner Ali on board.

That’s what everyone wants to see in an action/horror vampire-hunter movie, three female leads and lots of life lessons.

Put a chick in it! Make her gay! Make it laaaaaame!

[I actually do believe this, and not just because Variety reported it. That’s not too dissimilar to what happened with the Mad Max remake, where Max was relegated to a supporting role as Charlize Theron got the focus, although it was still a pretty interesting movie. Read on, though, because this may end up playing into the stockholder revolt against Bob Iger. — Ed]