The Marvel Cinematic Universe's reboot of Blade has been one of the most anticipated upcoming Marvel movies for years. Since it was announced, many other great superhero movies have been greenlit and released and quite a few new Marvel TV shows became available to stream with a Disney+ subscription but the big screen return of the comic book medium's most iconic vampire hunter remains unseen.
For any Daywalkers who feel like they have been waiting a vampire’s lifespan for this upcoming superhero movie and wonder what is taking two-time Academy Award winner (and one-time rap artist) Mahershala Ali and others involved so long, we may be able to help answer some questions. The following is everything that we know about the new Blade movie so far.
What Is The Blade Release Date?
As of October 2024, there is no official release date set for Blade. According to Deadline, Disney removed the comic book film from the upcoming 2025 movie schedule for an indefinite delay. However, Kevin Feige later told Omelette at D23 Brazil that Marvel Studios is still committed to bringing the character to the MCU.
This is the latest of many changes in release plans for the Phase 5 installment, which was most recently set for November 7, 2025. It had previously been given a November 2023 release date during Marvel's Hall H Panel at 2022's San Diego Comic-Con, before it would temporarily end up on the upcoming 2024 movie schedule when it was pushed back to September 6th of that year.
What Blade Is About
According to a feature by THR, Blade was, at one point, going to be a period piece in which demon sorcerer Lilith goes after Blade's daughter before this was scrapped in favor of a modern adventure. In other words, we do not actually know what it is going to be about. Regardless, the upcoming horror movie will likely involve the title character hunting vampires — not just based on his previous films, but also his history in Marvel comics.
Created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, Blade (née Eric Brooks) is a human born with vampiric abilities as a result of Dr. Deacon Frost feasting on his mother as she gave birth to him. Readers first got a taste of his expertise when he took on the most famous creature of the night in 1973’s Tomb of Dracula, Vol. 1, Issue 10. He has also crossed paths with Morbius the Living Vampire, whom we once predicted would likely lose in a fight with Blade.
There is also another rumor, reported by Knight Edge Media in February 2024, that suggests Marvel Studios is developing a movie about the Midnight Sons, which is a team of heroes (and anti-heroes) who each possess supernatural abilities, including Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, and, of course, Blade. If the gossip rings true, the film would bring composer Michael Giacchino (who helmed Disney+'s Werewolf by Night special) back to the director's chair.
The Blade Cast Stars Mahershala Ali As The Title Anti-Hero
While many fans of the original trilogy would have loved to see Wesley Snipes reprise the Daywalker (which he finally did with a cross-dimensional cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine), the award-winning actor succeeding him is an undeniably exciting choice. Let's take a look at him and the other members of the Blade cast (whose roles are undisclosed at the moment) below.
Mahershala Ali (Blade)
The SDCC 2019 announcement of Blade came with the reveal that Mahershala Ali, who also pitched the reboot despite previously playing another MCU character (Luke Cage's "Cottonmouth"), would inherit the title role from Wesley Snipes (and Sticky Fingaz, who starred in the short-lived TV series). However, some people, namely ScreenRant's Felipe Rangel, are convinced the Passenger 57 actor could reprise the role in the MCU before Ali makes his debut.
Of course, the Oscar winner, technically, already debuted as the vampire hunter with a vocal cameo in an Eternals post-credits scene. His next major release will be the upcoming Jurassic World: Rebirth with Scarlett Johansson.
Mia Goth
In April 2023, Mia Goth was added to the Blade cast after previously scaring audiences in acclaimed A24 horror movies X and Pearl and in Brandon Cronenberg’s twisted satire, Infinity Pool. We have no word on who she is confirmed to be playing but we have a few ideas of what Marvel characters Goth could play. At the premiere of her recent A24 movie, MaXXXine, she assured Deadline that the makers of Blade "really care, they do. They want to make a great movie. That’s the sense that I get from them and that feels good.”
What Will Blade Be Rated?
Around the release of the MCU's first R-rated movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, Kevin Feige confirmed that Blade is being developed with the intent of earning the same rating when speaking to ComingSoon. This is exciting news, considering the eponymous anti-hero's previous cinematic adventures were also branded as such by the MPA. Also, quite frankly, it would only be appropriate that a movie about bloodsucking creatures include more blood than a PG-13 rating would allow, even if Wesley Snipes disagrees.
Blade Currently Has No Director
In June 2024, The Wrap reported that Yann Demange — the second person hired to direct Blade after replacing Bassam Tariq — exited the project. The Parisian filmmaker, who was brought in to helm the Blade reboot in November 2022, previously directed 2014's '71 and 2018's White Boy Rick but is arguably best known for helming the thrilling pilot for HBO's Emmy-winning horror series, Lovecraft Country. In September 2024, it was rumored that The Book of Clarence director Jeymes Samuel was attached until the filmmaker personally debunked it on X (formerly Twitter).
According to a THR feature about Blade's development hell from 2024, screenwriter Michael Green, known for collaborating on Logan's Oscar-nominated screenplay, was out, too, and it Eric Pearson — who practically specialized in finalizing Marvel movie scripts — was supposed to be working on the latest draft. People previously hired to write the reboot also include Emmy nominee Stacy Osei-Kuffour of HBO's Watchmen fame, X-Men '97 creator Beau DeMayo, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto, When They See Us writer Michael Starrbury.
How To Watch The Original Blade Movies
Following that Deadpool & Wolverine cameo, Wesley Snipes' version of Blade is the only version of the vampire hunter we have in the MCU for now. As we wait for Ali's version of the Daywalker to make his official entrance, fans and fans-to-be can see Snipes in action again by watching the original Blade movies. You can even keep the vampire-hunting adventure going by giving the Sticky Fingaz-led spin-off series a try.
- Rent or buy Blade on Amazon
- Buy Blade on Blu-ray on Amazon
- Rent or buy Blade II on Amazon
- Buy Blade II on Blu-ray on Amazon
- Rent or buy Blade: Trinity on Amazon
- Buy Blade: Trinity on Blu-ray on Amazon
- Buy Blade: The Series on Apple TV+
- Buy Blade: The Series on DVD on Amazon
While promoting director Sam Esmail's Netflix movie, Leave the World Behind, Mahershala Ali told EW that he is "really encouraged with the direction of the project." Of course, that was in late 2023. On the bright side, fans have more than enough time to rewatch the Marvel movies in order before the MCU finally brings its new Blade into the light.
