More than 18 months after she was first attached to the MCU Blade movie, Mia Goth spoke up about her scrapped Marvel villain. In April 2024, it was revealed that the Pearl breakout star would play a major role in Mahershala Ali's long-in-development Blade film, taking on the iconic comic book character Lilith. Despite being thrown into the MCU mix over a year ago, there has been relatively little movement on the project.
In a recent conversation with the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, the Lilith actress updated fans on the status of Blade and its most recently scrapped draft of the project. When asked by host Josh Horowitz about the blood-sucking MCU reboot, Goth posited, "the furthest that it got with me is that, I went and... I auditioned."
She said that she "did a chemistry test" with star Mahershala Ali, as well as "a costume fitting, and a wig fitting," but things "unraveled from there:"
Q: "Were you excited by, at least, the iteration that was supposedly in the 1920s and you were, I guess, this character, Lilith? Was that... Were you ready? Was it like, 'This is happening. I'm ready for that.'"
A: "Yeah, I mean... the furthest that it got with me is that, I went and... I auditioned for that too, actually. I auditioned for that. And I flew to Atlanta, and we did a chemistry test between Mahershala and I, and we did a costume fitting, and a wig fitting, and I was very excited in the direction that it was going. It was very cool and Mahershala had such an interesting take on it. He was great. And then it just unraveled from there, unfortunately."
This comes just one month after Goth previously revealed to Elle that the Blade movie was still happening and that she was also, to the best of her knowledge, still signed on to appear in the film.
Blade was first confirmed in July 2019, when Marvel Studios revealed Mahershala Ali would bring to life the iconic vampire slayer. Since then, the movie has been plagued by false starts, with two separate directors leaving over the years, as well as six different writing teams having worked on the script at one point or another.
Goth was later brought on to the project to play what seemed to be the movie's central villain, Lilith, the blood-sucking daughter of Dracula (aka one of Blade's most formidable foes). Over the years, Lilith and Blade have clashed many time on the page, making this potential hero/villain pairing perfect for the big screen.
The last fans heard about Blade, Marvel Studios was yet again on the hunt for a new writer and director, with Yann Demange having left the film following its long development process. In all of this, Goth has seemingly remained attached to the title, with no sign of when fans will actually see the movie.
In 2024, it was revealed that the movie was being put on pause until the super-powered studio could get the story right. It has been previously reported that the version of the film for which Goth was brought on would have featured Ali's comic book hero hunting vampires in a moody, brooding 1920s setting.
What Is Happening With the MCU's Blade?
As long as Blade remains in development, people like Mia Goth are going to get questions about the seemingly cursed MCU film. At least now, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios brain trust have put the project on hold until they can get it right. This is a smart move, considering that it was being pushed back on the calendar with each ill-fated update becoming public.
Hopefully, Marvel has taken this time to drill down a pitch for what this movie can and should be, and then it can get a script written, find a director to bring this specific vision to life, and make it happen.
The one constant through all of these changes has been Mahershala Ali's involvement in the R-rated superhero movie. According to reports, despite some frustrations, Ali remains committed to playing the character. Whether that first happens in the Blade movie proper remains to be seen.
As the Blade film has remained in a constant state of flux, rumors of Marvel planning the character's debut outside of his own solo movie have begun to surface. Recent reports suggest that the sword-swinging character could appear in a Midnight Sons film, starring as part of a team before he heads out on his own.
There is no way of knowing whether the MCU Blade movie will actually happen. However, with people like Ali and Goth still seemingly enthusiastic about the project, Marvel Studios must do its best to bring it to the screen.
