Mahershala Ali's Blade Movie: Is It Dead?

It seems as though the highly anticipated Blade movie has finally been drained of all its blood. The once-upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film has encountered numerous roadblocks over the years, and it now appears the project has officially stalled with little hope of resuming. This means fans might never see Mahershala Ali as the Daywalker, which could be the most significant blow in the history of the MCU.

Rapper and artist Flying Lotus took to X / Twitter this week to discuss his role in the project, revealing that Blade is indeed no more. "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," the DJ, who recently directed Shudder's new sci-fi horror ASH, explained. "Maybe it'll come around again but I doubt it. Would have been fun tho."

The day before Flying Lotus' tweet, costume designer Ruth E. Carter confirmed during an appearance on The John Campea Show that she was set to design costumes for Blade before the production fell apart. She added that the film was supposed to be set in the 1920s, which would have undoubtedly led to some seriously cool costume and production design.

Adding to the bad news, actor Delroy Lindo — who was also attached to star in the film alongside Ali as Blade — opened up about the project's demise just days before Carter’s reveal. "When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input," he told Entertainment Weekly. "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 back in 2019, and if all had gone according to plan, fans would be eagerly anticipating its release this coming November. The project has cycled through several directors, including Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq, but none have stuck with the film.

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Given everything this adaptation has endured, it's hard to believe that it has only been six months since the movie was removed from Marvel's release schedule in October 2024 — and it has yet to confirm a new release date. However, a month after the film was pulled from the calendar, MCU boss Kevin Feige made it clear that the studio was still determined to bring a Blade movie to life.

"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 said during an interview with Omelete in November 2024. "But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU."