The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but now we’ve reached the five year anniversary of that announcement, and we still haven’t seen a new Blade movie. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige is currently doing the press rounds for the latest addition to the MCU, Deadpool & Wolverine, and while speaking with BlackTreeTV, Feige said they’re taking their time on this project to make sure they’re making the right Blade movie.
Feige was asked, “Now that Deadpool & Wolverine is going R-rated, does it change how you can make Blade (at Disney), as opposed to when you first decided to start developing it?” He answered, “I think that’s right. I mean, for the last few years as we’ve been trying to crack that movie, the most important thing for us is not rushing it and making sure we are making the right Blade movie. Because there were some great Blade movies years ago, and they were all rated R. So I think that’s, like Deadpool, inherent with the character of Blade.“
Director Yann Demange was attached to direct Blade for a while, and confirmed last November that the film will be rated R. Demange recently stepped away from the project, but it sounds like the movie will be rated R even without Demange at the helm. He was the second director to sign on for Blade and then drop it, following in the footsteps of Bassam Tariq. We’re still waiting to hear who’s going to replace Demange.
We recently heard a rumor that Mahershala Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project.
What do you think of Marvel taking so long to figure out the new Blade movie? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
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