With thirty-six films already released and six more under various stages of development, one would think Marvel would have it easy when rebooting the vampire hunter Blade for their cinematic universe. After all, they had no problem bringing in the X-Men and Deadpool, and from the looks of it, might even have cracked the code for a perfect Fantastic Four movie. But Blade remains a persistent proverbial thorn in the side of Kevin Feige that refuses to go away. So, where are we in regards to the Blade Reboot?
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While Blade has been a staple of comic books for decades, it was action superstar Wesley Snipes who first brought the character to life in Stephen Norrington’s 1998 feature by New Line, introducing style and pzazz to the vampire hunter in the R-rated feature that was a box office hit. Under financial strain, Marvel had sold off cinematic rights to a bunch of their characters in the 80s and 90s, and that is how Blade came to be made under New Line. This was the first R-rated comic book project that received both audience love and critical acclaim, and a sequel was soon greenlit.
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Veteran director Guillermo Del Toro then took the reins over for Blade II, making an even better film that is widely considered one of the best comic book films even today. A series of unfortunate events would then sputter the threequel, Blade: Trinity, as script issues and Snipes’ mental breakdown would result in the implosion of David S. Goyer’s film. Snipes would famously lock himself inside his trailer during some parts of shooting and would only respond when referred to as Blade. Needless to say, Blade Trinity is where Blade’s cinematic journey was supposed to end.
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A planned sequel and a crossover with the Underworld franchise failed to materialize after Blade: Trinity, and the franchise was thus well and truly finished. In 2012, the rights to the character reverted back to Marvel Studios, who set about to create a new Blade feature, more authentic to the comics as part of their burgeoning cinematic universe. Some time during this time, actor Mahershala Ali had approached Kevin Feige, impressing Feige with his take on bringing the iconic vampire hunter into the MCU. Ali had been nominated for an Oscar in 2017 and won one in 2019, and thus, Fiege got on board.
Blade Reboot
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Before Mahershala Ali was cast, Wesley Snipes mentioned during an interview with Deadline back in July 2015 that he had been in discussions with Marvel Studios about reprising his role from the Blade trilogy, even though those films don't share continuity with the MCU. During their 2019 San Diego Comic-Con presentation, Marvel Studios announced a new Blade film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Mahershala Ali confirmed as Blade. Fans of Snipes were obviously disappointed as they had wanted Snipes to continue on in the MCU, but Snipes expressed his support for Ali, saying he would "do great".
Blade Reboot
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In 2021, Stacy Amma Osei-Kuffour was hired to write the script while Bassam Tariq was confirmed to direct the film in September. That same year, Mahershala Ali’s first foray as Blade would come during the post-credits scene of Eternals (2021). When the character Dan Whitman tries to get his hands on the Ebony Blade, a mysterious character lurking offscreen says, ‘Sure you are ready for that, Mr. Whitman?’. Although Blade remained offscreen, the end credits teaser left fans reeling with excitement.
Blade Reboot
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However, troubles soon began with the film’s production. Frustrated by delays in getting production started, Bassam Tariq decided to say farewell to directing Blade a year later. Rumors were abound that the film’s script was not up to the mark and needed significant work before production could begin. These rumors were given some credence when Beau DeMayo joined to rewrite the script. Yann Demange was then hired to direct in November 2022, with Michael Starrbury doing a page-one rewrite. Further rewrites were conducted by Nic Pizzolatto in April 2023 and Michael Green in November 2023. The film was then planned to begin principal photography following the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike at Tyler Perry Studios, Atlanta. However, in June 2024, it was reported that Demange had also left the project. As a result, Marvel removed the film from its 2025 slate, and the film does not currently have a release date.
Blade Reboot
In addition to Ali, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Delroy Lindo were previously also announced as cast members, though it was not confirmed who each of these actors was portraying in the film. Both Aaron Pierre and Mia Goth would later confirm that they have moved on.
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While Marvel was scrambling to figure out Blade, Ryan Reynolds did the impossible and brought back Wesley Snipes as Blade for his Deadpool threequel. Although Snipes and Reynolds had famously quarrelled on the set of Blade: Trinity (Reynolds played Hannibal King in the film), the duo stuck the landing perfectly in the Deadpool threequel, and for a brief moment, it felt as if Snipes had never left. In an apparent shade to the Marvel reboot of his character, Snipes’ Blade quipped in the third act ‘there’s only been one Blade, there’s only ever gonna be one Blade. And just like that, Mahershala Ali’s chances of being the next Blade plummeted close to zero when Deadpool 3 passed a billion dollars at the box office.
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Therefore, it is clear that Marvel’s Blade reboot is stuck in development hell and is not moving forward anytime soon. Every single creative attached to the project, except Ali, has departed in the six years since the project was first announced. With Wesley Snipes successfully coming back to his character in Deadpool and Wolverine, a new Blade reboot may have not only gotten infinitely harder to land but might be DOA entirely. With so many characters to juggle already, Marvel might slowly let the Blade reboot die and hope that no one manages to notice it. We will see what happens as Marvel announces its next slate of films in the next few months.
