It’s Time For Marvel To Cancel Mahershala Ali’s Blade Reboot Movie

More than five years ago, Marvel Studios took to the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to offer the first glimpse of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe would look like after Avengers: Endgame brought the Infinity Saga to a close. close. The big surprise? Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali took to the stage to announce that he will star in the reboot of Blade. It was greeted with an enthusiastic response. That was then. This is now. The project has once again stalled, and with this latest delay, it’s clear it’s time to put this planned movie out of its misery.

It was recently revealed that Blade’s release date has been moved from November 2025, and that the new Predator movie Badlands will be released in its place. Disney did not indicate a new release date, leaving the film once again in uncertain territory. Next year will see the release of “Captain America: Brave New World”, “Thunderbolts”, and “Fantastic Four: First Steps”, and will likely be the start of the closing “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars”. It will be. Ends the Multiverse Saga. What comes after that? That remains to be seen, but at this point it’s hard to imagine that there’s room for Blade to appear before something happens.

For now, Marvel Studios has more reliable fish to fry, with Spider-Man 4 finally coming together after the success of 2021’s No Way Home. What does this mean for the Blade reboot? Frankly, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ali backed out of the project entirely at this point. This guy must have shown amazing patience and had to put other roles aside to make that time, even though he kept getting pushed back. The Blades were as good as Ali on paper, but it’s probably best for him to leave. Peel off the bandaid and move forward.

There are some harsh realities that Marvel Studios must accept at this point. First and foremost, this movie feels cursed. “Blade” lost not one, but two directors, with Yann Demange (“White Boy Rick”) stepping down earlier this year. Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) was originally attached to direct the film before bowing out. A handful of screenwriters came and went on the film, but no one could crack the code, which should have been simple enough. Is it really that hard to watch ants fight vampires? Great question, but so far Marvel doesn’t seem to be able to set itself up in a position that everyone likes.

It is said that the change in “Blade” was so extreme that Ali was already on the verge of quitting. Who could blame him? After winning his second Oscar for Green Book, the world was opening up to him. He was one of the most in-demand actors in the industry. Ali was also the one who first brought the idea of ​​making a new Blade movie to Marvel. this is what he did I wanted it to do. But that hasn’t happened yet. In the meantime, he’s definitely lost other roles along the way. I imagine that’s frustrating.

There are also harsh realities. Ali is currently 50 years old. Can he still play Blade? absolutely. But for now, the movie probably won’t hit theaters until late 2027. as soon as possible. He would have been 53 or perhaps 54 before his first appearance as this character. And as we all know, Marvel Studios likes actors to keep their jobs for the long term. Would Ali want to do that at this point? Does he want to play Blade until he’s 70? Is it possible? It all feels like a good idea, but it makes less and less sense by the day.

Another thing to consider is the recent success of Deadpool and Wolverine, which starred Wesley Snipes in a record-breaking role as Blade. Snipes created the character in live-action in 1998’s Blade, which became the first Marvel movie to actually become a box office success. This paved the way for later blockbusters such as “X-Men” and “Spider-Man.” The reaction to Snipes’ appearance in the film was truly enthusiastic. The audience ate it up. There’s even a joke about it in the movie, with Snipes saying, “There’s only one Blade.” Is now really the time to bring in a new actor?

For better or worse, Secret Wars will likely be a parade of cameos, with classic Marvel actors returning for one last hurray before bidding farewell to the Multiverse saga. It seems likely that Snipes will don the suit again to fight Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. Perhaps it might be best to ride that wave of nostalgia and have Snipes give his version of the character a true send-off that would be a monster blockbuster.

Are we saying a Blade reboot should never happen? Of course not. This is one of the few famous characters in the MCU who hasn’t had a standalone movie. Marvel Studios has the desire to do it, but they should wait until the right time comes. Unfortunately, this version hasn’t gelled yet. Something is not working. Instead of forcing it, it would be better to give Ali the career he deserves and others wash their hands of this mess, as painful as it may be.

Eventually, they’ll try this again with new actors after the MCU gets a soft reboot after “Secret Wars.” It’s frustrating. It sucks. It will be difficult to part with all that investment. But there’s no point in trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and there’s no point in trying to keep polishing something that looks like filth. Despite what Blade might say, there’s no point in trying to ice skate uphill. Leave me alone.

The release date of the reboot version of “Blade” has not yet been determined. For those who want to remember better times, The original “Blade” is available on Amazon in 4K Ultra HD.