Blade and Deadpool 4 may be moving forward at Marvel Studios, albeit slowly but surely. While Marvel Studios is starting to look toward Phases 7, 8, and 9, the current focus is on finishing up the Multiverse Saga with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the next Avengers movies. Projects such as Black Panther 3, Shang-Chi 2, Blade, and an X-Men reboot are being lined up for the future, while other sequels and new franchises are expected to enter development too.
Outside Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios' biggest post-Infinity Saga hit came in July 2024 with Deadpool & Wolverine. The MCU threequel finally united Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine alongside several Marvel Legacy characters, including Wesley Snipes' Blade.
Variety offered something of a bleak update on Blade and Deadpool 4's development, confirming there is "no sense of urgency" on either. While Variety indicated that Blade and Deadpool 4 are some time away, this seems to confirm they are in some stage of development at Marvel Studios.
This comes after Ryan Reynolds stated that Deadpool 4 "feels iterative and redundant," having also revealed he can imagine any version of his Marvel future from a solo sequel to a blockbuster ensemble to even being done altogether.
While there were reports recently that Blade had paused development, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige insisted the vampire flick is still happening, but there is currently no timeline on when it will come to fruition.
Blade is still expected to star Mahershala Ali as Eric Brooks, and Deadpool 4 would presumably bring back Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson.
Blade & Deadpool 4 Delays Reveal Improvements at Marvel Studios
Daniel Richtman revealed last year that Marvel Studios hopes to reunite Deadpool and Wolverine for another movie after their R-rated romp. This should come as no surprise after Deadpool & Wolverine raked in over $1 billion worldwide, but what is unexpected is that an attempt to recreate that isn't a massive priority.
This calm and calculated approach to Deadpool 4 shows a great level of restraint from Disney and Marvel Studios, which may indicate they are learning from past mistakes and eager to course-correct on their failures.
Fans have become increasingly concerned that Blade is doomed to be cancelled or merged into another project starring Mahershala Ali. Those concerns have become rather well-founded as six years have passed since Blade was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 with no signs of production on the horizon.
Currently, Blade may have a two-time Oscar-winner signed up to star, but there seems to be no script, writer, or director attached. Despite all that, Marvel Studios is reportedly planning to shoot Blade in late 2026 or early 2027, but whether that actually comes to pass won't become clear for some time.
