Mahershala Ali has confirmed that his long-in-development Blade movie for Marvel Studios is officially dead, and he has moved on from the project. In an interview with GQ, Ali stated that if Marvel ever decides to revive the film, it will not involve him.
Ali explained his decision by referencing his new movie, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. "The best way I can answer this question is, when I look at what is for me, is it either this or that — and I'll take this," he said. "No offense to them. I've been doing this professionally for pushing 30 years now, and one thing I've learned is that what is for you is for you and what is not is not. For whatever reason, that project is not for me."
He added, "If they wanted to do it, we would've done it. So I have to move on, and I have moved on. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother feels very much in alignment with the type of work I want to be known for. I don't really want to be known for remakes. I’d love to do original work that resonates with people and impacts them in unique ways."
Ali, who was reportedly under contract for the Blade film, suggested that the studio's lack of commitment led to its demise. "Again, you had me under contract, they have billions of dollars, if they wanted to do the movie, we would've done the movie. So we're not doing the movie," he stated. "When I look at this and Blade, I couldn't have done both, and the reason this even exists is because that project fell apart and Bassam [Tariq, director who was helming Blade before stepping down in 2022] had the time, space, energy, and focus to go and write this and then re-approach me."
Ali expressed a sense of creative redemption through his current work, utilizing skills he had developed while preparing for Blade. "And I was able to use those skills that I had been working on for over a year training for Blade. In that way, I feel creatively redeemed on some level, just in my own journey between me, myself, and I. But I feel ready to move on from the Blade questions. Those questions are for them. They didn't want to do it, so they should answer that question."
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had previously admitted feeling like a "gigantic loser and failure" over the project's collapse. Announced in 2019, the Blade reboot faced numerous production hurdles, including multiple script rewrites and a shift in setting from period pieces to modern day. Feige noted last summer that the studio "didn't feel confident that we could do that [make a good script through production] on Blade, and we didn't want to do that to Mahershala and didn't want to do that to us."
Details about the film's development have surfaced previously, including Mia Goth's account of participating in a costume fitting and wig fitting for a 1920s version of the film before its setting was scrapped. Wardrobe created for the film's supporting artists was reportedly sold and later used in Ryan Coogler's film Sinners. Meanwhile, Wesley Snipes, who previously portrayed Blade, reprised his role for a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, with some fans and actors, like Ryan Reynolds, suggesting a send-off film for his character.
Original Blade trilogy writer David S. Goyer has also expressed bewilderment at the prolonged delays, stating he would be willing to write a new script. The future of a Blade film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains uncertain, with speculation that a potential introduction of the Midnight Sons team could pave the way for the character's eventual appearance, especially with Ryan Gosling confirmed to play Ghost Rider in an upcoming MCU movie.