Marvel Studios has been struggling to get Mahershala Ali's Blade off the ground for over five years, and it might be time to switch course to another movie.
Marvel announced Blade at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, confirming Mahershala Ali would play the vampire hunter.
The supernatural comic hero was last brought to life by Wesley Snipes in an early 2000s trilogy before his surprise return in Deadpool & Wolverine (which came with some big challenges for the actor).
What's Going Wrong With Marvel's Blade Reboot?
Unlike every other project that Marvel Studios revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 released by July 2022 as part of Phase 4, Blade has yet to even start production.
Blade announced its first release date for November 3, 2023, before a series of delays bumped it to November 7, 2025. Since then, the movie has been removed from the Marvel Studios release calendar altogether due to development struggles.
The studio has seemingly had trouble finalizing a strong enough script for Blade. Variety reported in June 2024 that Eric Pearson (Blade Widow) was at least the sixth writer taking a stab at the vampiric screenplay.
Pearson joined a chain of failed Blade writers that includes Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049), Stacy Osei-Kuffour (The Bear), Michael Starrbury (Legends of Chamberlain Heights), Beau DeMayo (X-Men '97), and Nic Pizzolatto (True Detective).
Rumors claimed these rewrites shifted the movie from a period piece to a modern-day setting, along with scaling back connections to Black Knight and the Ebony Blade, which was teased in Eternals' post-credits scene.
Furthermore, Aaron Pierre, who just joined the DC Universe as a major Justice League hero, was once attached to play an unknown role but has reportedly been removed in more recent evolutions of the script.
Blade has also hired and lost two directors - Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) and Yann Demange (Top Boy) - and now has nobody at the helm.
As such, the current state of the film is shaky at best, as the project has no release date or director and is seemingly still undergoing script rewrites.
But, fortunately, through all the troubles, Ali remains attached to lead the way as the MCU's Blade. He will even come to screens ahead of Blade next year in the animated Marvel Zombies series.
As Marvel Studios faces troubles getting Blade off the ground, some have suggested the MCU should cut its losses and abandon the struggling project in favor of a Midnight Sons ensemble movie.
The MCU's Midnight Sons Explained
For those unfamiliar, the Midnight Sons (known in the recent video game as the Midnight Suns) are a team of supernatural characters in the Marvel world.
Members of the team in Marvel Comics have included Blade, Moon Knight, Morbius, Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Doctor Strange, and more.
As Marvel expands the supernatural corner of the MCU across Moon Knight, Blade, Werewolf by Night, Agatha All Along, and other projects, speculation is building that this team will soon assemble on screen.
According to a report from DanielRPK (via Cosmic Marvel) in October, Marvel Studios is fast-tracking a Midnight Sons movie and is searching for a director.
The reputable insider stated in February (via The Hollywood Handle) that the movie had begun development with composer Michael Giacchino eyed to direct after making his directorial debut with Disney+'s Werewolf By Night.
A report from Nexus Point News stated in June that Michael Green will write the script after writing a recent pass of the Blade script.
Read more about the Midnight Sons and which Marvel character could serve as the Nick Fury equivalent for the supernatural team.
Could Marvel's Blade Reboot Get Cancelled?
For now, both Marvel Studios and Mahershala Ali appear committed to bringing Blade to screens as they continue going through more evolutions of the script.
While the studio continues perfecting a screenplay, the next important task will be to find a filmmaker to helm the project after losing two directions.
With no sign of production starting anytime soon and no release date on the calendar, it is becoming increasingly unlikely Blade will even be released before the next Avengers movies and could instead fall into the next saga.
But one has to wonder how long Marvel Studios will be willing to keep Blade in development hell before taking another route with its next supernatural outing.
It seems strange to put a fast track on the supernatural ensemble while the vampire flick where Blade is intended to debut first is stuck in development hell and seemingly no closer to entering production than it did several years back.
Depending on how smoothly production runs on Midnight Sons, it could ultimately find itself ready to shoot before Blade. This would leave Marvel Studios in a tough position for how to handle its vampire hunter's introduction.
If the studio continues struggling to find the right way to introduce Blade, perhaps it will instead debut him as part of a Midnight Sons ensemble and spin him off into a solo movie or series further down the line.
The studio could even position Blade as the lead of the ensemble while other heroes join him in equally major roles akin to Captain America: Civil War. Perhaps a title such as Blade and the Midnight Sons could neatly split the focus between the central vampire hunter and the team who would support him.
Blade currently has no official release date.
