Blade Notably Absent From Marvel"s SDCC Panel Despite 2025 Movie Preview
Summary
- The Blade movie with Mahershala Ali has been facing delays and is currently stuck in developmental limbo.
- Marvel Studios initially planned a Blade reboot, but there was no mention of the upcoming movie at San Diego Comic-Con.
- Blade's slow progress was overshadowed by the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts updates.
The Blade movie did not even earn a mention at Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con panel. The upcoming Blade movie, which will star Mahershala Ali, has been trapped in developmental hell for some time, and there seems to be little sign of a resolution. Though it was meant to begin filming in Summer 2023, it has been continuously delayed, due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, production issues, and scheduling conflicts.
At the Marvel panel, where Screen Rant was in attendance, Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios cast and crew shared details about numerous projects, including Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts, but they failed to mention Ali's slow-progressing movie. There continues to be no word about its development, and it may remain in Hollywood purgatory for the foreseeable future.
What Happened To The Blade Reboot? Will Mahershala Ali's Blade Ever Be Released? Close When it was first announced, the Blade reboot appeared to be a perfect fit for Marvel Studios. He is a brilliant and award-winning actor, having taken home two Oscars for his work on Moonlight (2017) and Green Book (2019). Attaching Ali to an already-proven franchise was a natural decision, given that the original movies earned over $415 million from 1998 to 2005. Ali's reboot could easily have found his niche within the universe, especially after the Marvel Cinematic Universe added a supernatural horror side to its universe through the Werewolf by Night special.
Related What’s Going On With Marvel’s Blade Movie Though production on the film has been plagued with delays and crew changes, the MCU"s Blade reboot is still very much expected to go on.
Unfortunately, the production has been addled by a series of unfortunate issues. It was first announced in 2019, and Ali was already attached to the project. He was then introduced to the universe itself in Eternals (2021) in a small cameo role. There was an intention of following up with a movie, but Eternals failed at the box office, earning only $400 million on a budget of over $200 million. That necessitated a retooling of Ali's own project, which began Blade's painful journey into developmental hell.
After earning a November 2023 release date, filming delays plagued the movie and eventually sparked the director electing to leave the project entirely. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes delayed filming further, and a second director left in June 2024. While Marvel announced that the movie will be released on November 7, 2025, it is unlikely that Marvel will be able to meet the deadline while searching for a new director. With Blade still struggling, Marvel's refusal to address the movie at the San Diego Comic-Con panel is a worrying sign for its future.
Blade (2025) ActionSuperheroFantasyHorror Marvel Studios' Blade sees the return of the iconic vampire hunter more than two decades after Wesley Snipes first played the character in live-action. Starring Mahershala Ali as Eric Brooks, the Blade reboot officially introduces vampires to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Eternals' second post-credits scene teased the Daywalker's MCU debut. Ali is accompanied by Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre in Yann Demange's 2024 dark superhero movie.
Director Bassam Tariq Release Date November 7, 2025 Studio(s) Disney Distributor(s) Disney Writers Stacy Osei-Kuffour Cast Mahershala Ali , Delroy Lindo , Aaron Pierre Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Budget $164 million Expand Upcoming Marvel Movies
Release Date
Captain America: Brave New World
February 14, 2025
Thunderbolts*
May 2, 2025
The Fantastic Four
July 25, 2025
Blade
November 7, 2025
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
May 1, 2026
Avengers: Secret Wars
May 7, 2027
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