Mahershala Ali Responds To Blade Cancellation

The announcement of a new Blade movie coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring Mahershala Ali was met with excitement by fans when it happened. Now those fans are reeling from the confirmation that the movie isn't happening, and Ali isn't happy either, but he's also moving on.

What's Happening:

• A Blade move in the MCU starring Mahershala Ali was first announced at SDCC in 2019, but aside from a brief voice cameo in Eternals, the character never appeared, and the movie was continually pushed back by Marvel Studios.
• Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige recently called himself a "loser and failure" for his inability to get a Blade movie off the ground, indicating the movie was unlikely to happen.
• In a new profile with GQ, Mahershala Ali confirms that he has moved on from Blade.
• Ali lays the blame squarely on Marvel Studios, believing that the movie would have happened if Marvel really wanted it.

What Mahershala Ali Said About Blade:

• Mahershala Ali on Marvel Studios: "Again, you had me under contract, they have billions of dollars, if they wanted to do the movie, we would've done the movie. So we're not doing the movie.
• Ali on putting Blade behind him: "But I feel ready to move on from the Blade questions. Those questions are for them. They didn't want to do it, so they should answer that question."

A History of Blade In The MCU:

• Mahershala Ali took the stage at SDCC 2019 alongside Kevin Feige and was introduced as the new Blade, though it was made clear at the time the project was in its earliest stages.
• In 2021 we heard Ali's voice in the post credits scene of Eternals, seemingly laying the ground work for the character's debut.
• The Blade movie was bringing on cast, as early as 2021 like Mia Goth and Delroy Lindo, indicating it was moving forward.
• Blade was set to hit theaters in 2023 but was pushed to 2024.
• Blade was still being written in 2023, but the writer's strike that year caused more delays.
• The movie was delayed again into 2025, before being removed from the release schedule entirely.
• The film had two different directors on board at various points, but as the films were delayed scheduling conflicts caused them both to leave.