Summary
TheBladereboot is one of the most anticipated movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, there are claims that it has been cancelled, but a new report shares a promising update.
It has been over five years sinceMarvel StudiosPresident Kevin Feige announced theBladereboot starring Mahershala Ali. He made the announcement at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. Several Marvel movies have been released since, but there has been no definite update as to when the film will be released. In April, one writer claimed thatMarvel quietly canceled the film, but they still had plans to have Ali play the character in other projects. A new report seemingly supports the said claim.
Movie insider Daniel Richtman shared some updates abouttheBladerebooton his Patreon page. According to him, “Even tho ‘Blade’ is on pause but Marvel still wants Ali to play Blade.” The recent report confirmed that the upcoming film is “on pause.” This isn’t a huge surprise, though, due to the lack of a concrete update. The MCU film has undergone several changes over the years, including the assigned director. Initially, Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli,Ghosts of Sugar Land) was attached to helm the reboot. Later on, French director Yann Demange (White Boy Rick,Dammi) replaced him. However, Demange left the project in June 2024. There were also several script rewrites involving screenwriters Stacy Osei-Kuffour and Nic Pizzolatto. Ali was allegedly picky with the script. In October 2024, Disney removed the film from its 2025 release calendar and replaced it withPredator: Badlands.
Delroy Lindo, who had been cast in theBladereboot in November 2021, had also spoken about the project in a recent interview. He hinted that it was not pushing through. According to him, Marvel was “really interested” in his idea and they had an “exciting” concept. However, “for whatever reason, it just went off the rails,” he added. In a typical Marvel fashion, Lindo did not disclose his role in the MCU film. However, he teased that it had elements of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican political activist who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), because his character reportedly founded a Black community.
It has become clearer that Ali’sMCUstarrer is unlikely to happen. However, there is still a chance that he will appear as Blade in another Marvel Studios project. The rumored cancellation of theBladefilm had received mixed responses from fans. Those expecting it were disappointed because they were already very excited about it. They wanted to see Ali’s portrayal of the iconic vampire hunter who Wesley Snipes made popular. However, those who loved Snipes’Bladewere relieved because they didn’t want a reboot in the first place. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s 2024 movieDeadpool & Wolverinemay have fueled this because they saw Snipes reprise the role in the hit movie after over 19 years. Snipes surprisingly broke the fourth wall and said, “There’s only been one Blade. Only ever gonna be one Blade.” Many felt that it was ashade to Ali’s reboot.
While Marvel Studios has remained mum about Ali’s Blade, the rumors are consistent that Ali will still portray the character in some capacity. This might not be enough for some expecting to see him leading a solo movie. However, while there’s still no official announcement about the cancellation, fans can still hope for it. Maybe Marvel just delayed it. Feige previously said that they were committed to aBladereboot. So, let’s see.
