Summary

  • Marvel's Blade movie, originally announced in 2019, has been delayed multiple times and Mahershala Ali, who was cast as Blade, has only had a voice cameo so far.
  • The MCU's Fantastic Four movie, announced in 2019, still does not have a cast despite being set to premiere in 2025, highlighting the importance Marvel places on getting the casting right.
  • Marvel's Blade and Fantastic Four announcements from 2019 have yet to be delivered on, with both movies facing significant delays and uncertainties due to production issues and strikes.

Marvel Studios’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 was full of surprises, but the two most exciting MCU movies announced at the event, Fantastic Four, have yet to be released. Marvel has a long and successful history at Comic-Con’s Hall H, with the studio usually having hour-long s to announce new movies, TV shows, and cast additions. While Marvel Studios will sometimes skip SDCC – as it has done in 2023 – some of the most anticipate MCU projects were announced at Hall H in previous years. However, even though Marvel’s output of movies and shows continues to be significant, some projects announced four years ago have yet to come to fruition.

A year ago at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel announced the MCU’s Phase 5 slate, the MCU’s Phase 6 slate, and the name of the current saga. “The Multiverse Saga” refers to all MCU projects released during Phases 4, 5, and 6, the last of which includes a Fantastic Four movie. Another key MCU project set in the Multiverse Saga is Blade, which, along with Fantastic Four, was originally revealed at 2019’s Comic-Con.

Mahershala Ali Was Cast As Blade In 2019 But He's Only Had An MCU Voice Cameo

blade actor mahershala ali and eternals black knight kit harington

Marvel Studios has a tradition of announcing or confirming cast additions at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H. For example, Mahershala Ali was cast as Blade in 2019, with the actor appearing at the end of Marvel Studios’ at SDCC 2019. The announcement of an MCU Blade movie with Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali as the titular character was one of Marvel’s biggest Comic-Con 2019 reveals, instantly making Blade one of the most anticipated MCU projects. However, four years after Marvel cast Mahershala Ali as Blade, the actor has only had a voice cameo as the character.

Ali voiced Blade in one of Eternals’ post-credits scenes, which saw Kit Harington's Dane Whitman contemplating whether or not he should wield his family’s sword, the Ebony Blade. Interestingly, there is not too big of a connection between Black Knight and Blade in the comics. Still, Eternals’ Blade voice cameo set up how Blade can deal with the supernatural aspect of the MCU. In addition, Mahershala Ali’s Eternals voice cameo set up a crossover between Black Knight and Blade in a future project, perhaps the Blade movie itself.

However, neither Dane Whitman nor Blade has appeared in the MCU ever since. Eternals 2 has not been announced, Blade has yet to premier, and no Black Knight-related project has been confirmed. Considering that Blade has been delayed multiple times, it makes sense why the character was only supposed to have a voice cameo in Eternals before appearing in his own movie. Essentially, the window between Eternals and Blade was not supposed to be this long. Now, more than four years will have ed since Eternals by the time Blade premiers in 2025.

The Blade Movie Has Been Delayed Multiple Times

The Blade MCU Logo

The long waiting time for Mahershala Ali’s debut as Blade can be explained by the fact that Blade has been delayed several times. Blade was originally supposed to begin production on September 2021, more than two years after the project was announced at SDCC 2019. Bassam Tariq was announced as Blade’s director on September 2021, but the movie was now expected to begin production on August 2022. While Blade did not start shooting in Summer 2022, the first release date for the project was announced at SDCC 2022. As part of the MCU’s Phase 5 slate, Marvel announced that Blade would premiere on November 3, 2023.

It was then reported that Blade would film between October 2022 and January 2023. However, shortly after production began, director Bassam Tariq step down as Blade’s director due to scheduling conflicts. This was followed by Blade’s release date moving to September 6, 2024. Yann Demange ed Blade as the director, with the movie expected to start filming on May 2023. Following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, production on Blade has been shut down again, and the movie has been pushed back to February 14, 2025. If Blade makes it to its February 2025 date, almost six years will have ed since Mahershala Ali was cast as Blade at SDCC 2019.

The MCU's Fantastic Four Movie Doesn't Have A Cast Yet

John Krasinski as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with the MCU Fantastic Four logo and Fantastic Four in Marvel Comics

An MCU Fantastic Four film is arguably one of the most important projects in Marvel Studios’ history, as there have been two different movie iterations of Marvel’s first superhero team already. From the moment Marvel announced its Fantastic Four reboot at SDCC 2019, speculation began on who would play Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Thing, and Human Torch. A director for Fantastic Four was announced more than a year later, yet Jon Watts would step down from the project. On August 2022, Marvel announced that WandaVision director Matt Shakman would helm the project instead.

Since Shakman was announced as Fantastic Four’s new director, the speculation on the MCU Fantastic Four cast only increased. The MCU’s Fantastic Four film is currently set to premiere on May 2025, yet no casting has been announced for the project. MCU Fantastic Four cast rumors include names like Adam Driver as Reed Richards; Margot Robbie and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Daveed Digs as Ben Grimm, and Paul Mescal as Johnny Storm. However, all of those names come from unverified rumors, and there haven’t been any official reports on Marvel’s Fantastic Four cast.

It makes sense for Marvel Studios to take its time before locking on a cast for Fantastic Four. Considering how important the Fantastic Four is to Marvel’s history, those four characters are set to be front and center in the MCU for years to come. Still, the fact that four years have ed since Marvel announced Fantastic Four and the characters still have not been cast is curious. John Krasinski played Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Madness as a multiversal version of Mr. Fantastic, but it is unclear whether Krasinski will play Earth-616’s Reed too.

Marvel's Fantastic Four Movie Will Release 6 Years After It Was Announced

Marvel Studios Fantastic Four logo on a black background

Six years will have ed since Marvel announced Fantastic Four at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 by the time the film hit theaters in 2025. Marvel’s Fantastic Four was originally supposed to come out on February 14, 2025, but the film has since been pushed back to May 2, 2025. It is important to that the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes mean that Fantastic Four, which has not even begun shooting, could be delayed again. What changes will be made to Marvel’s Phases 5 and 6 due to the current strikes is difficult to say, but projects like Blade and Deadpool 3 have halted production.

After two failed Fantastic Four movie franchises, the MCU must nail its Fantastic Four reboot. The Fantastic Four could become the MCU’s new flagship heroes and be at the center of a series of movies and crossover events, but only if their return to the big screen works. This helps explain why the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie is taking so long, not to mention behind-the-scenes matters such as the director change. Marvel’s strategy of announcing projects and revealing castings at events like San Diego Comic-Con always makes for exciting moments, but the franchise has yet to deliver on its Blade and Fantastic Four announcements from 2019.