The Blade development saga has arguably become one of the most discussed topics related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent years. Back in 2019, Marvel Studios announced that a film centered on the vampire hunter was in development, with Mahershala Ali signed on to play the lead role. The project subsequently went through several filmmakers and screenwriters and doesn’t seem to be happening at this point, at least with Ali anyways. Still, he sees a silver lining to having been attached to the film that I wouldn’t have imagined.
As of late, Ali has been promoting Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, an action thriller from writer/director Bassim Tariq (who was originally set to helm Blade). The 2026 movie schedule entry sees Ali playing a sword-wielding mercenary and, with that, he had to undergo the necessary training. And, as the star recently revealed to Deadline (as seen on Instagram) at the Toronto International Film Festival, he can thank Marvel Studios for handling the bill for his training, which was originally meant for his role as the Daywalker:
Oh, [I] absolutely [trained for Blade] for a year. …. It was a little more than a year. And you know, I’m actually really grateful. [Marvel] helped pay for our movie, so thank you, really. We couldn’t have afforded to — there’s no way we could’ve did this film, and I got to go train for a year. So, at this point, I’m so grateful that they made a wonderful contribution to our film.
That’s definitely one way to turn lemons into lemonade. Serious training like Ali’s can indeed be expensive and a lower-profile flick like Tariq’s doesn’t have Marvel-level resources. And, based on the footage that’s been shown of the movie thus far, it seems that Ali puts all that prep to very good use. Still, it’s all very bittersweet, considering he’s not swinging that sword while in character as Eric Brooks and taking on blood-thirsty creatures of the night.
Earlier this summer, Ali got real about Blade not moving forward and, while he meant to convey “no offense” towards Marvel Studios, he opined that if the Disney-owned company “wanted to do it, we would've done it.” Amid his interview with Deadline, the Jurassic World Rebirth star was once again asked if the MCU movie was officially done, and he said the following:
I’m done. I’m doing [this movie], and anything else moving forward. So yeah, I’m over that. So I’m done with that.
Months ago, it was rumored that Ali’s Blade might still appear in a different live-action MCU movie since his solo flick didn’t pan out. Fans haven’t been too pleased about the film’s apparent demise, and one person even called out Marvel for “fumbling” Ali twice due to his abbreviated stint on Luke Cage. However, series creator Cheo Hodari Coker shut down that claim, explaining that Ali only joined the show on the condition that he could exit after seven episodes to work on other projects.
The fact that Mahershala Ali will likely never headline his own MCU film stings even more than a vampire bite. However, as a fan of his, I’m at least glad to hear about his Marvel-paid training being put to good use for his new movie. Speaking of which, check out Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother when it opens in theaters nationwide on September 25.
