It’s time for Marvel to cancel Mahershala Ali’s Blade reboot film

More than five years ago, Marvel Studios took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to give us our first look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” which climaxed the Infinity Saga. The big surprise? Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali took the stage and revealed that he would be starring in a remake of Blade. It received an enthusiastic response. That was then. This is now. The project has once again stalled and with this latest delay it seems clear that it’s time to put this planned film out of its misery.

It was recently announced that “Blade” has lost its November 2025 release date and the new “Predator” film “Badlands” is taking its place. Disney hasn’t given the film a new date and so the film is once again in uncertain territory. “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*,” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” will be released next year, likely setting the ball for “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which are coming to an end Launch Multiverse Saga. What comes next? That remains to be seen, but it’s hard to imagine there’ll be room for “Blade” before any of this happens at this point.

At the moment, Marvel Studios has more reliable fish to fry: “Spider-Man 4” is finally coming to theaters after the success of 2021’s “No Way Home.” Where is the “Blade” reboot? Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ali dropped out of the project entirely at this point. The man has shown a remarkable amount of patience and has certainly had to give up other roles to make time for it, even if it has been pushed back again and again. As great as Ali seemed on paper, perhaps his departure would be for the best. Rip off the band-aid and move on.

At this point, there are some harsh realities that Marvel Studios needs to accept. First and foremost, this film feels cursed. “Blade” has lost not one but two directors, with Yann Demange (“White Boy Rick”) departing earlier this year. Bassam Tariq (“Mogul Mowgli”) was originally hired to direct the film before he left. The film also had a small army of writers who came and went, and no one was able to crack the code, which was supposed to be simple enough. What’s so hard about watching Ali fight vampires? That’s a great question, but at the moment Marvel seems to have failed to make it something everyone will like.

To that end, the changes at Blade were so extreme that Ali reportedly almost left. Who could blame him? After his second Oscar win for “Green Book,” the world was his oyster. He was one of the most sought-after actors in the industry. It was Ali who gave Marvel the idea of ​​making a new “Blade” film in the first place. That’s something he wanted to do. However, it didn’t happen. Meanwhile, he certainly missed out on other roles. You can imagine that this is frustrating.

Harsh realities also play a role. Ali is now 50 years old. Can he still play Blade? Absolutely. But at this point, the film probably wouldn’t hit theaters until late 2027 at earliest. He would be 53, maybe 54 years old before his first appearance as the character. And as we all know, Marvel Studios values ​​actors’ long-term loyalty. Would Ali want to do that at this point? Does he want to play Blade until he hits 70? Is that even possible? It all just feels like a good idea that makes less sense every day.

The other thing to consider is the recent success of Deadpool & Wolverine, in which Wesley Snipes had a record-breaking performance as Blade. Snipes debuted the character in the 1998 live-action film Blade, the first Marvel film to actually achieve major success at the box office. It paved the way for later bigger films like “X-Men” and “Spider-Man.” The reaction to Snipes’ appearance in the film was nothing short of enthusiastic. The audience ate it up. The film even makes a joke of this, with Snipes saying, “There will only ever be one blade.” Is now really the time to hire a new actor?

For better or worse, “Secret Wars” will likely be a parade of cameos, with just about every Marvel actor from before coming back for one last hurrah before we say goodbye to the multiverse saga. It’s likely that Snipes will appear again to help fight Robert Downey Jr.’s “Doctor Doom.” Maybe it’s best to just ride that wave of nostalgia and let Snipes give his version of the character a real send-off in what turns out to be a monster blockbuster.

Am I saying that a Blade reboot should never happen? Of course not. This is one of the few standout characters who didn’t have a solo film in the MCU. Marvel Studios has every motivation to do so, but should wait until the time is right. Unfortunately, Ali just didn’t gel with this version. Something just isn’t working. Instead of forcing it, let Ali have the career he deserves and everyone else should just walk away from this mess, as painful as that may be.

Later, after Secret Wars and after the MCU gets a soft reboot, consider bringing in a new actor to give it another go. That’s annoying. It sucks. It will be hard to give up the whole investment. But there’s no point in trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, nor in continuing to try to polish something that looks like a turd. There’s also just no point in trying to skate uphill, as Blade would say. Let it go.

The “Blade” reboot currently does not have a release date. For those who want to reminisce about better times, the original Blade is available in 4K Ultra HD on Amazon.