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Mahershala Ali and Kevin Feige Blade announcement
Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

‘We let the public know’: Kevin Feige seals ‘Blade’s fate and erases Marvel’s commitment to Mahershala Ali in the same breath

Right on the jugular!

Blade fans shouldn’t get their hopes up of seeing Marvel’s beloved vampire hunter in the MCU anytime soon. In fact, by piecing together Kevin Feige’s latest comments on Marvel Studios’ plans, it looks like the Blade‘s future is no longer a dicey gamble and has already crossed the fence.

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By now, you know the drill. In July 2019, Marvel Studios made waves at San Diego Comic-Con when they revealed that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali would play the iconic vampire hunter. Since then, Blade has seen a parade of writers and directors take on the project and abandon it, forcing MCU fans to question if the Daywalker would indeed get his movie. 

As part of the D23 event this weekend, Feige sat down with Brazilian outlet Omelete to discuss the MCU’s overall plans for the upcoming years. As expected, the man behind Marvel Studios’ curtains used the opportunity to declare his love for Ali’s Blade, a project recently booted from the MCU’s release calendar after being trapped for years in development hell. As Feige puts it:

“We’re committed to Blade. We love the character. We love Mahershala’s version of him. And rest assured, whenever we change direction with a project or are still trying to figure out how it fits into our schedule, we let the public know. You’re updated on what’s going on. But I can say that the character will make it to the MCU.”

While it’s a relief to hear that Blade’s MCU future is ensured, other parts of Feige’s interview throw some water on fans’ expectations that Blade is finally on the right track. That’s because there’s no way to fit the movie into Marvel Studios’ new reduction goals.

Blade currently has no future… at least not for the next few years

When discussing the MCU’s future, Feige underlined how the studio’s goal is to focus on quality instead of quantity. That means downsizing the number of yearly releases. As Feige puts it, Marvel Studios is trying to return to the same rhythm it had during the “Infinity Saga.” As he explains it:

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re back to a normal rhythm, more or less. In the past, we had four films and four series a year, and I think we’re going to go down to two films, three series – but that won’t be the case in 2025, specifically. It turns out that we have been working on these titles for a long time, and they happen to be ready for release now.”

That doesn’t bode well for Blade. The MCU calendar already has three movies on the schedule for 2026, one of them being Avengers: Doomsday. While Blade could potentially take the slot of one of the two untitled movies, these will most likely go to projects that tie directly into the “Multiversal Saga,” such as Spider-Man 4 and the rumored Scarlet Witch return. As for 2027, Avengers: Secret Wars has already claimed the May 7 spot. With Marvel Studios focusing on two movies per year moving forward, the earliest we will watch Blade in theaters will be by the end of 2027 if we are truly optimistic.

On the bright side, the latest rumors tell us Blade will launch a supernatural storyline that spawns multiple projects. However, Feige’s most recent updates tell us we’ll have to wait years before knowing what that means. So, for now, Marvel’s promise to bring Ali into the MCU fold and add him to its roster of superbeings is temporarily erased. While we would like to trust Feige here, projects like Blade that get stuck in development hell, undergo a gazillion changes, have a star whose fame is only climbing as the days pass, and have no discernable future apart from lofty promises hardly ever climb out of their frozen pits.


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Author
Image of Marco Vito Oddo
Marco Vito Oddo
Marco Vito Oddo is a writer, journalist, and amateur game designer. Passionate about superhero comic books, horror films, and indie games, he has his byline added to portals such as We Got This Covered, The Gamer, and Collider. When he's not working, Marco Vito is gaming, spending time with his dog, or writing fiction. Currently, he's working on a comic book project named Otherkin.