Mahershala Ali's Blade Film Project Likely Cancelled

The eagerly anticipated Blade movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seemingly lost all its momentum. Despite the excitement surrounding the project, it has encountered numerous obstacles over the years, leading to a complete standstill with little chance of revival. This means fans might never see Mahershala Ali embodying the iconic Daywalker, a significant disappointment for the MCU community.

This week, rapper and artist Flying Lotus took to X / Twitter to share his involvement with the project, revealing that Blade is no longer in development. "I guess we are so far from it even being a possibility now but. Yeah I was signed on to write music for the new BLADE movie before it fell thru," he stated. The DJ, who recently directed Shudder's new sci-fi horror ASH, expressed his doubts about the project's revival but noted it would have been an enjoyable experience.

Just a day before Flying Lotus' tweet, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, during an appearance on The John Campea Show, confirmed she was set to design costumes for Blade before the production collapsed. She revealed that the film was planned to be set in the 1920s, promising unique and intriguing costume and production designs.

Adding to the series of unfortunate updates, actor Delroy Lindo, who was also set to star alongside Ali in Blade, discussed the project's downfall with Entertainment Weekly days before Carter's revelation. "When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input," he said. "And in the various conversations I had with producers, the writer, the director at the time, it was all leading into being very inclusive. It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form. And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails."

Blade was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, and if everything had gone according to plan, fans would be eagerly awaiting its release this coming November. The project saw several directors come and go, including Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq, but none stayed on to complete the film.

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Given the numerous setbacks, it's hard to believe that it has been only six months since Blade was removed from Marvel's release schedule in October 2024, with no new release date announced. However, a month after the film was dropped from the calendar, MCU boss Kevin Feige reaffirmed the studio's commitment to the project. "We are committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala's take on him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You're all up to date on what's happening," he told Omelete in November 2024. "But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU."