Mahershala Ali’s Blade has yet to sink its teeth into the Marvel Cinematic Universe–and even his animated counterpart arrived without the Oscar-winning actor’s involvement.
Marvel Studios’ long-gestating Blade reboot hit another major pause last year when Disney officially pulled it from its release calendar. The film, previously scheduled for November 2025, is no longer on the studio’s slate, marking the latest in a string of creative shakeups that have plagued the project since its 2019 announcement.
Originally intended for a 2024 debut, Blade has seen multiple rewrites and director changes. After Bassam Tariq’s exit, Yann Demange took over before departing in 2024. Writers Michael Green, Nic Pizzolatto, and Stacy Osei-Kaffeur have all contributed drafts, while Mia Goth remains part of the cast.
“For the last few years, we’ve been trying to crack that movie,” Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Black Tree TV last year. “I think the most important thing for us is not rushing it and making sure that we’re making the right Blade movie because there were some great Blade movies years ago.”
Deadline confirmed that “In what comes as no surprise, Marvel Studios’ Blade won’t be coming out on November 7, 2025; rather, Disney is opening 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands.”
Predator: Badlands (2025) serves as a sequel to 2022’s Prey, with Dan Trachtenberg returning to direct and Elle Fanning in the lead. The decision aligns with Disney CEO Bob Iger’s restructured Marvel release strategy, limiting output to three theatrical films and two Disney+ series annually to maintain higher creative standards.
While fans await Ali’s live-action debut, the vampire hunter recently appeared in Marvel Zombies–though not as expected. The animated miniseries introduced a Multiversal version of Blade, known as Blade Knight, voiced by Todd Williams of Invincible fame.
“Surprisingly, this might also act as the debut for Blade in the Marvel film line, with actor Todd Williams taking on a very different interpretation of the Day Walker,” Comic Book reported.
Fans were quick to wonder why Ali wasn’t involved in voicing the role. According to executives Bryan Andrews and Brad Winderbaum, the reason was purely logistical.
“In an interview with POC Culture, the pair of Marvel executives addressed why Ali did not appear as Blade in the recently released Marvel Zombies. The most significant factor, they said, was ‘timing,'” The Direct reported.
“‘It was really a timing issue more than anything else,' Winderbaum, Marvel's Head of Streaming, Television and Animation, remarked. Andrews, one of the show's creators, added they ‘would have loved' to have had Ali on the project,” the outlet continued.
Marvel Zombies premiered on Disney+ on September 24, 2025, as the studio’s first TV-MA-rated animated project. Originally developed as a film, the four-episode series was created by Zeb Wells and directed by Bryan Andrews. The show continues the apocalyptic story from What If…? and features an ensemble voice cast including Iman Vellani (Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch).
Despite its ongoing delays, Kevin Feige maintains that Ali remains on board. Multiple versions of the screenplay have been developed, and the film is now set in the present day. With several open MCU release dates extending through 2028, Blade’s long-awaited debut could still find its place–it’s just taking time to sharpen its edge.
How do you feel about the long wait for Blade in the MCU? Let us know in the comments down below!
