It seems the much-anticipated Blade movie has finally run out of steam. The Marvel Cinematic Universe project, which promised to bring Mahershala Ali into the fold as the iconic Daywalker, has hit a series of roadblocks over the years and now appears to be indefinitely stalled.
Rapper and artist Flying Lotus took to X / Twitter this week to share his involvement with the film, revealing that Blade is no longer moving forward. "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."
Just a day before Flying Lotus' tweet, Sinners costume designer Ruth E. Carter confirmed on The John Campea Show that she was set to design costumes for Blade before the project unraveled. She also revealed that the film was to be set in the 1920s, promising some truly spectacular costume and production design.
Adding to the string of unfortunate updates, actor Delroy Lindo, who was set to star alongside Ali, shared his disappointment over the project's collapse just days before Carter's revelation. "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 initially announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, with hopes that fans would be enjoying the film this November. However, the project has seen several directors come and go, including Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq, without any lasting success.
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Despite the setbacks, it's been only six months since Blade was removed from Marvel's release schedule in October 2024, and no new release date has been announced. However, a month after its removal, MCU boss Kevin Feige reaffirmed the studio's commitment to the project. "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 told Omelete in November 2024. "But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU."
