Marvels bladefirst announced in 2019, has been delayed again. The reboot of the franchise, which is set to bring the daywalker and vampire killer into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was scheduled to arrive in 2025 but does not yet have a release date.
On October 22nd as reported by deadlineDisney and Marvel have removed the long-awaited blade reboot from its schedule for upcoming film releases. The plan was for blade is scheduled to hit theaters on November 7, 2025. But this is not happening now and instead Predator: Badlands has occupied this place for a long time blade no longer has a release date at all. It’s just the latest hurdle for the comic book movie since its inception announced five years ago at San Diego Comic Con 2019.
In February 2021, Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired to write the film and Bassam Tariq to direct. However, Tariq left blade in September 2022 due to scheduling issues and creative differences. Therefore, in November 2022, Yann Demange was hired by Marvel to direct the film and Michael Starrbury was hired to rewrite the script. Then in November 2023, Michael Green was hired to write an entirely new script. Demange left the room blade in June 2024 as another writer who worked on the upcoming MCU Fantastic four Film, Eric Pearsonwas used for further revisions. Production was also delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the writers’ strike in 2023.
After all the turmoil behind the scenes, blade will still star Mahershala Ali in the title role of the vampire killer, after Wesley Snipes famously played the role of Blade in a trilogy of films from New Line Cinema. However, Ali is reportedly understandably upset about the delays, and I bet he’s not happy about this latest delay pushing the film out of 2025.
As Marvel scales back its production and produces fewer MCU films and shows each year, I hope the company can take its time and make it happen blade is worth the wait. But I also worry that having so many people involved might make it feel less like a coherent film and more like a harrowing series of scenes awkwardly stitched together.
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