(Updated 10/22/2024)
The comic book character who ushered in the modern era of superhero movies is finally coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe! We’re not talking about Wolverine or any of the X-Men; we’re talking about Blade.
Many people will tell you that the current superhero era began with the X-MEN, in 2000. This is BLADE erasure! In 1998, Wesley Snipes debuted as the sword-wielding half-vampire Marvel hero, and frankly, nothing was ever the same. BLADE is a spectacularly entertaining movie and one that doesn’t get enough respect.
But things move forward. It is not disrespectful to Wesley Snipes or anyone else involved in the original movie that Marvel is now bringing the character into the MCU. BLADE (the new one), starring Mahershala Ali, will arrive… well, sometime. It's been a long road for BLADE.
The movie has not even begun filming yet, so it’s too early to know very much. Still, here is everything we can tell you about BLADE.
When's the Blade Release Date?
While BLADE was originally set to be released late in 2023, things have changed multiple times. The movie had been set for release in November, 2025. But now BLADE has been pulled from Marvel's calendar. Whether it will come back remains to be seen.
Why the delays? There were changes in the filmmaking team, and that set the whole schedule back, with ripples that were felt up and down Marvel's movie release schedule.
The Writer and Director of Blade
This is where the story of the new BLADE movie gets more complicated than the most convoluted comic book continuity.
In 2022, Marvel hired Yann Demange (HBO's "Lovecraft Country") to direct. That's one step in a very confusing development process that involves another director who worked on the project for a while (Bassam Tariq, who made MOGUL MOWGLI) and quite a few different writers.
Originally, BLADE was going to roll cameras with a script originated by Stacy Amma Osei-Kuffour, who wrote for both "Watchmen" and "PEN15." Then Michael Starrbury, who was selected in part thanks to input from star Mahershala Ali, wrote a draft. "True Detective" creator Nic Pizzolatto did a draft (remember that he and Ali worked together on the third season of "True Detective," and Michael Green did work on the movie, too. Eric Pearson (FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS) is the latest writer.
Who Stars in Marvel's Blade?
So far, we only know three of the BLADE cast members. As mentioned, Mahershala Ali will play Blade, the Daywalker. And Mia Goth and Delroy Lindo are said to have roles, too, but we don't know who they'll play. In fact, since the movie has been pushed back more than once, there's a chance Goth and Lindo won't appear. We'll have to wait and see!
Finally there may be one more cast member coming in from another recent Marvel movie…
About That Eternals Post-Credits Scene
Fans of Marvel's ETERNALS will already know that we've heard the voice of Mahershala Ali in the movie's post-credits scene. As Kit Harington's character opens a box that holds the Ebony Blade, we hear Ali say "You sure you're ready for that, Mr. Whitman?" We don't see Ali as Blade, but hearing his voice was a good moment.
This has also led to the assumption that Kit Harington will appear in Blade as the Black Knight, a character who has been a member of several different Marvel Comics super-teams since his comic book introduction in the 1960s.
What About Blade's Appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine?
In DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, Wesley Snipes shows up as Blade one more time. He's in the Void — that is, the zone for cast-off characters and concepts — along with a lot of other versions of characters from, mostly, the 20th Century Fox films based on Marvel Comics. Snipes appearing in the movie seemed like a long shot at best, but Ryan Reynolds made sure they pulled it off. And it's a nice coda for the original screen version of the character.
But don't expect Snipes to star in another BLADE movie. The actor is 61, and even prepping for a small role in this movie took a lot of work. "I wasn't Blade ready, man. I don't walk around as Blade every day, you know what I mean? … We had to work out," he told EW.
"We definitely had to get the body, and my biggest concern was being in condition enough to deal with whatever the action was. They didn't really tell me what the action was going to be, so I prepared for whatever that was going to come. Thankfully, I didn't have to do as much as I thought I would because the action movies are tough. They're not easy at all by any means."
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All images courtesy of Marvel Studios.