Summary
- The Blade movie with Mahershala Ali has been facing delays and is currently stuck in development limbo.
- Marvel Studios initially planned a Blade reboot, but there was no mention of the movie at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.
- The movie's slow progress was overshadowed by the next two Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts updates.
The will star Mahershala Ali and will introduce the character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been trapped in development hell for some time, and there seems to be little sign of a resolution. Though it was meant to begin filming in Summer 2023, it has been continuously delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, production issues, and scheduling conflicts.
At the Marvel SDCC , where Screen Rant was in attendance, Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios cast and crew shared details about numerous projects, including Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts, but they failed to mention Ali's slow-progressing Blade reboot. There continues to be no word about its development, and it may remain in Hollywood purgatory for the foreseeable future.
What Happened To The Blade Reboot?
Will Mahershala Ali's Blade Ever Be Released?
When it was first announced, the Blade reboot appeared to be a perfect fit for Marvel Studios. Ali is a brilliant and award-winning actor, having taken home two Oscars for his work on Moonlight (2017) and Green Book (2019). Attaching the star to an already-proven franchise was a natural decision, given that the original movies earned over $415 million from 1998 to 2005. Ali's reboot could easily have found his niche within the universe, especially after the Marvel Cinematic Universe added a supernatural horror side to its universe through the Werewolf by Night special.
What’s Going On With Marvel’s Blade Movie
Though production on the film has been plagued with delays and crew changes, the MCU's Blade reboot is still very much expected to go on.
Unfortunately, the production has been addled by a series of unfortunate issues. It was first announced in 2019, and Ali was already attached to the project. He was then introduced to the universe itself in Eternals (2021) in a small, off-screen cameo role. There was an intention of following up with a movie, but Eternals underperformed at the box office, earning only $400 million on a budget of over $200 million. That necessitated a retooling of Ali's own project, which began Blade's painful journey into developmental hell.
After earning a November 2023 release date, filming delays plagued the movie and eventually sparked the director electing to leave the project entirely. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes delayed filming further, and a second director left in June 2024. While Marvel announced that the movie will be released on November 7, 2025, it is unlikely that Marvel will be able to meet the deadline while searching for a new director. With Blade still struggling, Marvel's refusal to address the movie at the San Diego Comic-Con is a worrying sign of its future.
Blade (2025)
- Director
- Bassam Tariq
- Writers
- Stacy Osei-Kuffour
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
Cast
Delroy Lindo
Aaron Pierre
Marvel Studios' Blade sees the return of the iconic vampire hunter more than two decades after Wesley Snipes first played the character in live-action. Starring Mahershala Ali as Eric Brooks, the Blade reboot officially introduces vampires to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Eternals' second post-credits scene teased the Daywalker's MCU debut.
Marvel Movies |
Release Date |
February 14, 2025 |
|
May 2, 2025 |
|
July 25, 2025 |
|
November 7, 2025 |
|
May 1, 2026 |
|
May 7, 2027 |
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