With the Multiverse Saga sinking under the weight of underperforming projects like The Marvels and Secret Invasion, apparently the main thing keeping the MCU afloat right now is nostalgia for the late ’90s and early ’00s. Deadpool & Wolverine is bringing back Fox actors who have been playing their roles since 2000, Spider-Man: No Way Home brought back Tobey Maguire and crossed $1 billion, and X-Men ’97… Well, that one’s kind of self-explanatory. And then, of course, there’s the Blade reboot.
Despite not being a flagship character in the comics — he debuted in the pages of horror title Tomb of Dracula in 1973 — Blade has the honor of launching the modern Marvel movie craze in the first place. Wesley Snipes memorably played the Daywalker in 1998’s Blade, which was followed up by Guillermo Del Toro’s Blade II (2002), and 2004’s Blade: Trinity — featuring Ryan Reynolds’ first comic book film appearance. In other words, Blade is hot stuff so fans were ecstatic when Kevin Feige brought Mahershala Ali on stage at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 to announce he was set for a new movie in the MCU.
Clearly there have been — apologies for the incoming vampire pun — teething problems with Blade in pre-production, however, as the film has been pushed back again and again in the schedules ever since. Currently, Blade is penciled in for release on Nov. 5, 2025. Still, with The Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts just swapping places on next year’s slate, there remains a strong chance the vampire slayer could have his moment staked once again. At least, that’s according to the latest word on the street.
Blade rumored to be hit by further delays, pushed back to 2026
According to scooper Jeff “The InSneider” Sneider, Blade seems unlikely to be able to stick to that Fall 2025 window and could be pushed into 2026. On the upside, it sounds like things are finally looking good for the much-beleaguered project. As per Sneider, Ali is reportedly happy with where the script is at at last. That’s a big relief, considering that Ali is believed to have had many problems with previous drafts, hence why it’s eaten through three different screenwriters to date — Michael Starburry, The Bear‘s Stacey Osei-Kuffour, and finally, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto.
Another scooper, Caleb Williams, has offered similar information. Although he assured fans that Ali is in no danger of walking away from the production, despite the many delays, Williams warns that Blade may not get around to filming this year. This is in keeping with Sneider’s intel, as he points out that Ali and the cast’s busy schedule — scream queen Mia Goth is attached as the female lead, remember — is the biggest hurdle right now. In addition, Marvel has its hands full making FF and Thunderbolts.
In short, don’t worry your undead little heads, Daywalkers, because Blade is definitely still happening. The only thing is that it might need a little bit more vamping before it’s ready to go. In other news, I have now exceeded my allotted quota of vampire puns.
