The best casting coup in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), of which we have seen almost nothing to date: Five years ago, Kevin Feige announced that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Green Book) would play the Vampire Hunter Blade will embody. To date, the corresponding film has not been released.
The Blade reboot has suffered numerous setbacks in recent years. Not only has the film been postponed several times and creatively reworked: Two directors have left the company, the number of screenwriters is even higher. What is particularly bizarre is that Ali made his Blade debut in the MCU a long time ago.
Marvel’s Blade reboot is in production hell: Now Wesley Snipes reacts to the delays
The extremely tough origin story has not passed original Blade Wesley Snipes by either. Between 1998 and 2005, he portrayed the Marvel hero three times on the big screen. On Twitter, he comments mocking the planned new editionthat just won’t get going.
Blade, lordylordylordy. People are still looking for the secret ingredient: Snowmobiling in traffic, pretty tough. Daywalkers make it look easy, don’t they?
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Actually, it was one of Feige’s greatest triumphs: At the end of the Marvel panel at the San Diego Comic Con 2019 In a casual “one last thing” moment, the Marvel boss brought Mahershala Ali onto the stage and introduced him to the audience as the new Blade actor. The enthusiasm in Hall H was boiling over.
In February 2021, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen) was hired as screenwriter, before five months later Indie discovery Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) was revealed as the director of the Blade reboot. In November 2021, Ali’s Blade voice was even heard in the post-credit scene of Eternals. Then the problems started.
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Mahershala Ali in Moonlight
Tariq left the project shortly before filming began. Yann Demange (White Boy Rick) was hired as a replacement – and Michael Starrbury (When They See Us) as the new screenwriter. Since then, Nic Pizzolatto (True Detective), Michael Green (Logan) and Eric Pearson (Black Widow) have worked on the Blade script.
In the meantime, the project came to a complete standstill. As with many other film projects, the reason for this was the Strike of screenwriters and actorswho had a firm grip on Hollywood last year. The latest defeat came a few days ago when Demange quietly and secretly vacated the director’s post.
Now Blade is (again) without a director.
When will the Blade movie with Mahershala Ali be released in cinemas?
According to current status, the Blade reboot is scheduled for 5 November 2025 in cinemas. It is questionable whether this date can still be met after the latest developments. In total, the film has been postponed three times so far, from November 2023, to September 2024, to February 2025, to the current release in November 2025.