Marvel's Blade film reboot reportedly gets shelved as Tom Holland shares exciting Spider-Man 4 filming update

Marvel giveth and taketh away

News By Tom Power published 23 October 2024

Marvel's Blade movie reboot won't be released late next year after Disney decided to delay the beleaguered superhero movie indefinitely.

According to Deadline, Disney has not only removed Blade's November 7, 2025 release date from its schedule, but reportedly shelved it altogether. Ordinarily, the entertainment behemoth bestows a new launch date on a film that needs to be pushed back. As Deadline notes in its report, however, Blade hasn't received a revised release date, which is usually a coded way for a studio to say development on a movie has been temporarily halted. Per industry insider Alex P, Blade's indefinite delay is down to Marvel's desire to focus on wrapping up its Multiverse Saga first, with plans to finally introduce the iconic Daywalker to fans once its latest multi-phase story ends.

Blade's removal from Disney's line-up of new movies is the latest in a long line of issues that have plagued the Marvel Phase 6 film. Indeed, it's been over five years since the Mahershala Ali-fronted superhero flick was first announced, with Marvel confirming a Blade film reboot was on the way at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. Ali's vampiric antihero made his debut, albeit as just an off-screen voice cameo, in one of Eternals' end credits scenes two years later.

Things have slowly turned sour, though, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) flick beset by numerous problems. Some, such as that global health crisis – we don't mention its name around these parts – and the 2023 Hollywood strikes have unavoidably impacted its production. 

Marvel isn't innocent in how it's handled development of one of its most anticipated movies, mind you. Bassam Tariq, who was hired as Blade's first director in July 2021, left the MCU project in September 2022 due to apparent creative differences. At the time, reports suggested that Blade's 90-page script was also not up to scratch and that it only contained two lackluster action set-pieces.

That was only the tip of the iceberg for the troubled flick. Multiple writers, including Stacey Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starburry, Nico Pizzolatto, Michael Green, and Beau DeMayo – DeMayo's own relationship with Marvel has turned toxic in recent months – have all attempted to write a compelling screenplay to no avail. Meanwhile, Yann DeMange, who replaced Tariq in the director's chair, also departed in mid-2024. You can read more about these headache-inducing issues in my article rounded up everything that's gone wrong for Blade's standalone MCU debut.

It's unclear if Ali and Mia Goth, who are currently set to play the titular character and its primary villain, are still tied to the project. I've reached out to Marvel and Disney for an official comment on whether the pair are still contractually attached to Blade and I'll report back if I receive a response.

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