David S. Goyeris one of the most prolific screenwriters working in Hollywood, but his laundry list of unmade projects might be even more fascinating than those that came to fruition. Over the years, Goyer has tackled tons of franchises and worked with heaps of different filmmakers. He undertookThe Dark Knightseries withChristopher Nolan, explored vast parts of the DCEU with folks likeZack Snyder, and broughtBladeto life with filmmakers likeStephen NorringtonandGuillermo del Toro. The originalBlade, in particular, could have been a very different movie, hadDavid Fincherended up with the job. That’s right, we’re talking about theSe7enandFight ClubDavid Fincher! But what would that movie have been like, and how would it have strayed from theBlademovie that we ended up with?
By now, comic book movies and the name David S. Goyer go together like peanut butter and jelly. David Fincher, on the other hand, is not a name that comes to mind. That being said, the mid-’90s were a very different time for the now-acclaimed filmmaker. He had just wrapped up his tumultuously producedAlien 3, a film that no one,not even the hands that made it, look back upon fondly. Still, it was a big science fiction horror movie under the banner of a name-brand franchise. Since then, Fincher has gone on to make loads of thrillers likeZodiacandGone Girl, as well as biopics likeThe Social NetworkandMank. So yeah, when you think of massive comic book vampire slayer movies from big names like Marvel, no, David Fincher does notcurrentlycome to mind — but again, the ’90s were a different time.
ForDavid S. Goyer, adaptingBladewas just par for the course. By the mid-’90s, the future comic book movie titan had worked his magic with tons of genre movies likeDeath Warrant,Kickboxer 2,The Puppet Masters, and would even write the sequelThe Crow: City of Angels. Goyer wasn’t exactly penning the highest-grossing movies of all time yet, but he was making a name for himself in the world of action movies and was on the cusp of adapting his first big franchise —Blade.
Goyer detailed the early daysof developing the firstBladein an appearance onJoshua Horowitz’sHappy Sad Confusedpodcast. While Stephen Norrington would end up directing the project eventually, it would be a little while before he would take the reins forMarvel’s favorite vampire hunter. When the project was in its earliest stages, Goyer had a very different right-hand man — David Fincher. The project didn’t get very far at this point in its development. Goyer sets the stage onHappy Sad Confused, stating, “I developed a draft with Fincher before he had doneSe7en.I think he had done Alien 3, and maybe he was developingSe7en. I developed a draft with him." This means that their joint development ofBladewould have to have taken place sometime between 1992 and 1994.Alien 3came out in 1992, andSe7enhit theaters in 1995. If we’re going off of Goyer’s claims that Fincher was only developingSe7enat the time, not shooting it or editing the film, then our best bet could only be 1994 at the latest.
Goyer went on to say, “I remember going to our producer’s office… There was this giant conference table. Fincher laid out 40 to 50 books of photography and art with post-it notes inside them. He said, ‘This is the movie.' Fincher took us on a two-hour tour around the table of the aesthetics of this scene, that character, it was such a fully fleshed-out visual pitch… I had never seen something like that before. A lot of that thinking infused my further revisions.”
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I’m the monster’s mother.
David Fincher Would Have Been a Great Fit for ‘Blade’
If you’re aware ofFincher’s notorious status as a perfectionist, then Goyer’s story of the director’s attention to detail and number of reference books for photography and art adds up. Before he could make a potential Blade actor do dozens of takes killing vampires, he had to cobble together dozens of images to best resemble the world that he was hoping to capture. If we’re looking at the effort alone, then this sounds like a game-winning pitch. Given the amount of work that he put in, it makes you wonder why Fincher’sBlademovie didn’t end up coming to fruition, and what it would have turned out as. Combining the special care that Fincher put into his pitch along with the grim tone that he has brought to most of his filmography, thisBladeadaptation could have been something truly special.
Ultimately, it’s probably for the best that Fincher didn’t go on to make aBlademovie. Instead, he dished up one classic after another.Se7en,The Game, andFight Clubwent on to fill out the rest of his iconic ’90s run. His status as one of today’s greatest living directors became cemented in the 2000s and 2010s after movies likePanicRoom,Zodiac,The Social Network, andGone Girlwere unleashed onto audiences. It’s not that aBlademovie would have assuredly hindered his trajectory, but if his enormous pitch had been approved, and he went on to bring his vision of the franchise to life, then it could have put off developingSe7enslightly, if not entirely!Bladeis fun, but a world without Fincher sounds like a nightmare!
Guillermo del Toro and Stephen Norrington Ultimately Sunk Their Teeth Into ‘Blade’
TheBladefranchise would ultimately fall into the right hands. Goyer would stay as thescreenwriter of the entire trilogy, and even end up directing the third film,Blade: Trinity. Stephen Norrington ended up as the captain of the ship forBlade, butwould step away for the first sequel. A modern filmmaking legend would take his place, one by the name ofGuillermo del Toro.Blade IIwould end up being the highest-grossing film in the franchise, and just might be the most beloved. Goyer’s trilogy capper, on the other hand, landed the series with a thud. Since then, the on-screen iteration of the half-human vampire hunter has been in hibernation.Mahershala Aliis slated to take the role for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with that version even having a vocal cameo in a post-credits scene forEternals, but his stand-alone film has seen anendless barrage of problemssince its announcement. As of right now, the MCU reboot ofBladeis slated to be released on July 21, 2025.
While Goyer and Fincher’sBladefilm would have likely been great, it’s probably a good thing that the franchise ended upturning out as it did. Instead, we got several classics from Fincher and an entire trilogy written by Goyer, among the mountain of other properties that he has had a hand in. Never say never though, because at this rate, if 2025’sBladeswapped out its director again, no one would bat an eye. Imagine a Fincher and Ali collaboration? Bring it on!
