Mahershala Ali has been attached to ‘Blade’ since 2019, but the production is yet to start due to several setbacks over the years. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor is now frustrated with the delays though he originally saw the title role as his ‘Black Panther.’
Ali pushed Marvel Studios to make this film by calling them after his Oscar win for ‘Green Book’ and has been highly involved in its development. He even handpicked director Yann Demange after Bassam Tariq left two months before principal photography in September 2022. Demange also quit the project in early June.
The new MCU project was going to start filming in May 2023 and follow a script by Nic Pizzolatto, but the writers and actors strikes shut the movie down. Marvel later hired Michael Green and replaced him with Eric Pearson following Demange’s departure.
Other Projects Are In The Works, But ‘Blade’ Is Yet To Move Forward
Some actors like Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre also left the project, and this affected the schedule as well. Mahershala Ali’s lawyer criticized the situation in a THR interview. She said:
“That deal was in 2019, and they still haven’t shot it, which is pretty much the craziest thing in my professional experience.”
Other Marvel projects like ‘Thunderbolts*’ and ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ already started filming after the strikes. Meanwhile, Ali shared positive thoughts about ‘Blade’ by telling Entertainment Weekly last year:
“We’re working on it. That’s the best I could tell you. I’m really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we’ll be back at it relatively soon.”
‘Blade’ will probably not start filming anytime soon because Mahershala Ali is currently working on ‘Jurassic World 4.’ Still, the film’s release date remains November 7, 2025.
