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Since the project’s announcement in 2019, Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans have been excited by the prospect of seeing a new version of the vampire slayer enter the fold, years after Wesley Snipes played him in a trilogy of films.
However, production has been hit by roadblock upon roadblock due to the pandemic, Hollywood strikes and then the exit of two directors, a series of events that Snipes himself described as “rough”.
While Snipes briefly reprised the role in Deadpool & Wolverine, in which he declared: “There is only one Blade”, it will be Mahershala Ali playing the character in the forthcoming film.
Now, the film has had its November 2025 release pulled, with Predator: Badlands, from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, set to be released in its place instead.
The latest draft of the new Blade film was written by Eric Pearson, who co-wrote Marvel’s new Fantastic Four film, which will be released next year.
It has previously been worked on by at least five other writers, including Michael Green, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury, Beau DeMayo and True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto.
When Blade was first delayed by Tariq’s departure, Marvel suggested the filmmaker’s exit from the project was simply the result of a scheduling issue.
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However, there were also unverified rumours of further disruption behind the scenes.
Journalist Jeff Sneider claimed on Twitter that he had been told by someone familiar with the project that the script for Blade at that point was “roughly 90 pages” long – unusually short for a film of this scale. He also claimed that the script features just two “lacklustre” action sequences.
“Mahershala [is] said to be very frustrated with the process,” he alleged. “[Marvel Studios boss Kevin] Feige said to be spread too thin. But hey, that’s just what sources are telling me.”
In 2023, Ali told Entertainment Weekly that he remains optimistic about the film, saying: “I’m sincerely encouraged in terms of where things are at and who’s on board and who’s leading the way as far as the writing of the script and the directing and all that.”
Meanwhile, his co-star Mia Goth. who’ll play the villain Lilith, suggested the delay was due to the fact that Marvel wants to make sure they “make a great movie”.
