Mahershala Ali's Blade Movie Officially Dead

It seems the long-troubled *Blade* movie has finally lost its last drop of life. Once a highly-anticipated addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film has faced numerous setbacks over the years—and now, it appears to be officially stalled, with little chance of revival. Perhaps most heartbreaking of all is that Mahershala Ali, who was set to portray the iconic Daywalker, may never get to bring his vision of the character to the big screen.

Flying Lotus recently took to X (formerly Twitter) and inadvertently confirmed what many had begun to suspect: *Blade* is no longer moving forward. The multi-talented artist revealed he was originally signed on to compose music for the film before the project collapsed. “I guess we are so far from it even being a possibility now… Yeah I was signed on to write music for the new BLADE movie before it fell thru,” he shared. He also expressed doubt about the film ever resurfacing, adding, “Maybe it'll come around again but I doubt it. Would have been fun tho.”

This revelation came just one day before costume designer Ruth E. Carter—who is known for her incredible work on films like *Black Panther*—confirmed on *The John Campea Show* that she had been involved in pre-production for *Blade*. Even more intriguingly, the film was reportedly set in the 1920s, which would have offered a unique visual style and an exciting creative challenge for both costume and production design.

Adding to the sense of finality, actor Delroy Lindo—who was cast to co-star alongside Ali—also spoke out days earlier about the collapse of the project. In an interview with *Entertainment Weekly*, Lindo recalled the initial excitement surrounding the film and how Marvel appeared eager to include his creative input. “When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input,” he said. “And in the various conversations I had with producers, the writer, the director at the time, it was all leading into being very inclusive. It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form. And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails.”

The film was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, and if everything had gone according to plan, fans might have been anticipating its release this November. However, multiple directors—including Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq—have cycled through the project without sticking around long enough to bring it to completion.

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Considering everything *Blade* has endured, it’s surprising to realize that it’s only been six months since the film was quietly removed from Marvel’s release schedule in October 2024—with no new date announced since. However, in November of that same year, Kevin Feige reaffirmed during an interview with *Omelete* that the studio still intends to bring *Blade* to life in some form. “We are committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala's take on him,” Feige stated. “Rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You're all up to date on what's happening. But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU.”