Today saw the release of the Avengers: Doomsday trailer, which features a huge ensemble cast, even by franchise standards. Factions including the X-Men, the New Avengers and the Fantastic Four are included, while we get appearances from old friends like Thor and Steve Rogers. However, one character that hasn’t been able to crack in the MCU quite yet (apart from a multiverse role in Deadpool & Wolverine) is Blade. Mahershala Ali’s anticipated debut as the day walker had been stalled many times with many reworkings until it was finally just laid to rest in a coffin. Production for the film never got off the ground and there had been a revolving door of creatives behind the scenes, despite some casting being done.
When MCU head Kevin Feige appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to promote the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he was thrown a lightning round of questions from host Josh Horowitz. The first question Horowitz asked Feige was about Blade, why it failed to get made, and how he felt about the whole situation. Feige replied,
I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”sponsored content
Horowitz continued to fire questions at Feige. He asked if there was a world where Avengers: Secret Wars would be two films. Feige responded, “Not this world.” Feige also confirms that, despite opening the same day as Dune: Part Three, Avengers: Doomsday will stick with its release date. Horowitz would ask how Feige sees the MCU after Secret Wars — if he sees it as a reboot of sorts. Feige answers that he doesn’t and that he does what he always does and get inspiration from the comic source material. He says he’s taken a look at both Secret Wars stories and the Hickman series from 10 years ago has a good road map for the MCU to follow going forward.
Horowitz concluded with an X-Men question, asking how many characters have been cast. He asks, “Have people signed on?” Feige replies simply, “Not necessarily.”