It’s been six years since Marvel Studios first unveiled Blade at San Diego Comic-Con, but the project has remained stuck in development hell ever since, cycling through writers and directors with no clear end in sight. One constant, however, has been Mahershala Ali, who remains committed to the role and is eager to finally bring Blade to life—assuming Marvel can ever get the film off the ground.
During the New York premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth, Ali was asked if he knew when production on Blade would finally begin. “Call Marvel,” he said. “I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready.”
I imagine Ali might be feeling a tad frustrated at this point, but kudos to him for sticking with it. Fans have been puzzled as to why Marvel is having so much trouble with Blade, including David S. Goyer, who scripted the original three movies starring Wesley Snipes.
“I think Blade is a relatively simple story. It’s not complicated. I always think about when you embark on a movie like this, you have to distil down what is the promise of the movie.” Goyer recently said. “The promise of a new Blade is that it should have insane ass kicking, it should be pretty scary, might be R-Rated, it doesn’t have to be, and it should not be complicated. It should be a simple story. So, I don’t know why it’s been so hard. I have no idea why. I’m baffled. Mahershala Ali is an amazing actor. I don’t know why.“
The Blade reboot has been through a lot. It was initially slated to be directed by Bassam Tariq, but Marvel reportedly grew concerned that he wasn’t the best fit for the project. The studio gave Mahershala Ali a list of potential replacements, but the actor conducted his own search and handpicked Yann Demange, who also exited the project. Blade was reportedly just weeks away from starting production in 2023 when the WGA strike hit and was followed by the SAG strike. Everything shut down, but Blade was left dormant even when the strikes concluded. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre, who were reportedly attached to the project, departed, and new writers were brought in to tackle the script. The film has been removed from Marvel’s schedule. As it stands, Ali’s only appearance in the MCU has been a vocal cameo in the post-credit scene of Eternals.
