Marvel’s addiction to universe-building comes under fire once more as a hotly anticipated reboot goes back to basics

With both Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and DC’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods underperforming, there’s definitely a feeling in the air that the tide may be turning against superhero shared universes. So it’s a timely development that one of Marvel‘s most anticipated upcoming reboots is reportedly having to go back to the drawing board and reduce the role of its big crossover character.

Yes, the reboot in question is Mahershala Ali’s Blade movie, a relaunch of the comic book horror franchise that previously starred Wesley Snipes. It’s been an open secret for a while that the film has been running in circles behind the scenes as a seeming lack of creative focus has derailed pre-production. In the latest development, rumors have emerged that Ali himself is spearheading a complete redraft of the script, one which cuts back on the movie’s Eternals tie-ins.

From what we’re hearing Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman may no longer have a big part to play in Blade, despite Eternals‘ post-credits scene. Honestly, while lovers of the Game of Thrones icon might be a little stung, MCU fans are practically celebrating the news as it hints Blade will actually, you know, be a Blade movie.

In one viral tweet dissecting the rumors, a fan embraced the opportunity to skewer Marvel’s addiction to “universe-building” in an expletive-filled takedown of the MCU’s reliance on making sure all its projects connect to one another.

This is a topic that’s coming up a lot recently, what with the Ant-Man cast openly hoping that a fourth film would eschew the Phase 5 heavy-lifting of Quantumania and Shazam! director David F. Sandberg revealing he wanted to avoid falling into Marvel’s trap with Fury of the Gods (unfortunately, lackluster marketing and bad word of mouth provided their own problems in this case).

These Blade rumors are just that and remain unconfirmed, but with any luck Marvel will pivot the project to being something more self-contained. Sometimes it’s good to make sure an IP can walk on its own two feet before trying to ice-skate uphill.