It's Time For Marvel To Put The Cursed Blade Reboot Out Of Its Misery
by Ryan Scott · /FilmMore than five years ago, Marvel Studios took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to offer our first glimpse of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going to look like after the events of "Avengers: Endgame," which brought the Infinity Saga to a close. The big surprise? Two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali took the stage revealing that he was going to star in a "Blade" reboot. It was met with a rapturous response. That was then. This is now. The project has once again stalled out and, with this latest delay, it seems clear that the time has come to put this proposed movie out of its misery.
It was recently revealed that "Blade" lost its November 2025 release date, with the new "Predator" movie "Badlands" taking its place. Disney didn't give it a new date and that once again leaves the movie in uncertain territory. "Captain America: Brave New World," "Thunderbolts*," and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" will arrive next year, presumably teeing up the ball for "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars," which will close out the Multiverse Saga. What comes after? That remains to be seen but it's hard to imagine there is going to be room for "Blade" before any of that happens at this point.
For the moment, Marvel Studios has more reliable fish to fry, with "Spider-Man 4" finally coming together after the success of 2021's "No Way Home." Where does that leave the "Blade" reboot? Frankly, it wouldn't be surprising if Ali walked away from the project altogether at this point. The man has exercised a remarkable amount of patience and has surely had to set aside other roles to make time for this, even though it kept getting pushed back. As great as Ali as Blade seemed on paper, perhaps his departure would be best. Rip the bandaid off, move forward.
This version of Blade clearly isn't working
At this stage there are some harsh realities that Marvel Studios has to accept. First and foremost, this film feels cursed. "Blade" has lost not one but two directors, with Yann Demange ("White Boy Rick") departing earlier this year. Bassam Tariq ("Mogul Mowgli") was originally tapped to helm the film before he left. The film has also had a small army of writers come and go, with nobody able to crack the code on what seems like it should be simple enough. What's so hard about watching Ali fight vampires? That's a great question but, for now, Marvel can't seem to get it situated to everyone's liking.
To that end, the changes on "Blade" have been so extreme that Ali reportedly almost left already. Who could blame him? Coming off of his second Oscar win for "Green Book," the world was open to him. He was one of the most in-demand actors in the business. Ali was also the one who brought the idea of doing a new "Blade" movie to Marvel in the first place. This is something he wanted to do. Yet, it hasn't materialized. All the while, he's surely lost out on other roles along the way. One imagines that's frustrating.
There are also harsh realities at play. Ali is now 50-years-old. Can he still play Blade? Absolutely. But at this point the movie probably wouldn't hit theaters until late 2027 at the earliest. He would be 53, maybe 54 before his first appearance as the character. And as we all know, Marvel Studios likes actors to stick around for the long haul. Would Ali want to do that at this point? Does he want to play Blade until he's pushing 70? Is that even feasible? It all just feels like a good idea that is making less sense by the day.
Do Blade after Secret Wars once the dust settles
The other thing to consider is the recent success of "Deadpool & Wolverine," which featured a record-breaking appearance by Wesley Snipes as Blade. Snipes originated the character in live-action with 1998's "Blade," which was the first Marvel movie to actually do meaningful business at the box office. It paved the way for bigger movies that would come later, such as "X-Men" and "Spider-Man." The reaction to Snipes' appearance in the film was downright rapturous. Audiences ate it up. The film even makes a joke about it, with Snipes saying "There's only ever gonna be one Blade." Would now really be the time to bring in a new actor?
For better or worse, "Secret Wars" is probably going to be a cameo parade, with just about every Marvel actor of old coming back for one last hurrah before we say goodbye to the Multiverse Saga. It feels likely that Snipes would suit up again to help fight Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Maybe it's best to just ride that wave of nostalgia and let Snipes give his version of the character a true send-off in what figures to be a monster blockbuster.
Am I saying that a "Blade" reboot should never happen? Of course not. This is one of the few marquee characters that hasn't had a solo film in the MCU. Marvel Studios has every motivation to do it, but it should wait until the time is right. Unfortunately, this version will Ali just hasn't gelled. Something simply isn't working. Rather than force it, let Ali go have the career he deserves and everyone else should just wash their hands of this mess, painful as that may be.
Down the line, after "Secret Wars" and after the MCU gets a soft reboot, bring in a new actor to try this again. It's frustrating. It sucks. It's going to be hard to let all of that investment go. But there's no sense in trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, nor in continuing to try and polish what appears to be a turd. There's just no point in trying to ice skate uphill either, as Blade might say. Let it go.
The "Blade" reboot does not currently have a release date. For those who want to remember better times, the original "Blade" is available on 4K Ultra HD on Amazon.