Marvel Studios announced a Blade movie set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2019 – and it still hasn’t arrived. Does this mean Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot is canceled?
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The Status of Marvel Studios’ Blade Reboot, Explained
Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot isn’t canceled (not yet, at least). But it’s easy to see why many fans are convinced studio boss Kevin Feige will drive a stake through the troubled production’s heart soon. Key personnel shake-ups have dogged Blade‘s protracted pre-production cycle. Mogul Mowgli director Bassam Tariq was originally slated to helm Blade, working from a screenplay by Stacy Osei-Kuffour (one of the scribes behind HBO’s Watchmen).
However, Tariq was out of the picture by September 2022, with Lovecraft Country‘s Yann Demange replacing him in the director’s chair two months later. Marvel Studios reportedly hired The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete writer Michael Starrbury alongside Demange to overhaul Osei-Kuffour’s Blade script. Two more writers, Nic Pizzolatto and Michael Green, later penned additional drafts, before Demange stepped down as director in June 2024.
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Recent reports peg The Fantastic Four‘s Eric Pearson as Blade‘s current screenwriter – and apparently, he has his work cut out for him. In November 2023, sources close to the MCU production spoke scathingly of its early scripts. According to these insiders, Blade was effectively the “fourth lead” in his own movie, with other characters hogging the Daywalker’s spotlight.
Whether this is actually true remains unclear, although it tracks with reports that leading man Mahershala Ali almost quit Blade over the quality of its script. Either way, the MCU reboot continues to slip behind schedule. It’s already missed two release dates, and Demange’s departure presumably jeopardizes its current November 2025 slot. But all that said, Marvel Studios still hasn’t canceled its Blade reboot!
Has Blade Appeared in Any Other MCU Entries?
Yes – although “appeared” isn’t quite the right word. Mahershala Ali voices Blade for an uncredited, off-screen cameo in Eternals. It’s part of the 2021 MCU blockbuster’s post-credits scene, in which Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman approaches the Ebony Blade and an unseen character asks whether he’s ready to wield the mystical weapon. And that’s it: Blade’s partial MCU introduction is over.
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Ali hasn’t reprised the role since, either. Despite plenty of speculation that Blade would show up in other horror-themed Marvel Studios outings (such as Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night), this ultimately didn’t happen. Werewolf by Night director Michael Giacchino revealed in a September 2022 interview that he and Marvel Studios briefly considered a Blade cameo in the Halloween special, however.
Blade is currently slated to premiere in cinemas on November 7, 2025.
Published: Jun 18, 2024 01:14 pm