Those eager to see Marvel’s vampire hunter back on the silver screen will have to wait a little longer. The highly anticipated “Blade” reboot has been removed from Disney’s 2025 release calendar as the film appears stuck in development hell.
Wesley Snipes famously starred in a trio of movies about the half-human, half-bloodsucker Blade for New Line between 1998 and 2004, but the new version, fronted by Mahershala Ali for Marvel Studios, has had trouble getting unsheathed. Since it was announced in 2019, the remake has gone through two directors—Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange—and numerous writers. Through it all, Ali has stayed on board, and Marvel chief Kevin Feige has emphasized the studio’s desire not to rush the film to the screen. But at the rate things are going, will the “Blade” reboot ever go into production? Here’s what we know.
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Marvel, housed at Disney and run by Feige, and the star of the “Blade” reboot, Ali, are the primary ones involved in developing the remake. Eric Pearson, a popular Marvel scribe, is delivering a script now, but due to constant turnovers, that could change. At this time, no director is involved.
The “Blade” reboot’s development path has often seemed on a knife’s edge. The pandemic may have had something to do with the initial delays—per IndieWire, after Marvel announced the project in 2019, it took almost two years to find its first writer, Stacy Osei-Kuffour (“Watchmen”). Following Osei-Kuffour, Tariqu came on board to direct, and actors Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre were also cast in supporting roles. Disney then gave the reboot a Nov. 3, 2023, release date. Unfortunately, just two months before it was slated to start production, the film was put on hold as Tariq was removed as director. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Marvel was concerned he wasn’t the best fit for the project. After Tariq’s exit, Beau DeMayo (“X-Men ’97”) was hired to take a stab at writing a script, but that too failed. In the fall of 2022, new hope emerged when Ali handpicked director Demange (“71”), who was paired with writer Michael Starbury (“When They See Us”). Actor Mia Goth was also cast opposite Ali as vampire villain Lilith. However, Starbury’s involvement didn’t last long, and in the spring of 2023, he was replaced with Nic Pizzolatto, creator of “True Detective.” Unfortunately, the 2023 SAG strikes inevitably halted production even more, leading to Lindo and Pierre also being let go.
When the strikes ended in November 2023, fans were hopeful the “Blade” reboot would be back on track. However, the MCU was dealing with some major in-house issues, such as commercial bombs, like “The Marvels,” and assault charges against one of their franchise stars, Jonathan Majors. According to Variety, the “quality” of Marvel Studios was “suffering,” with the “Blade” reboot as a prime example —especially with its script. After multiple writers, the script at this time had Ali as essentially the fourth lead in the film. In the late fall of 2023, Michael Green (“Logan,” “Alien: Covenant”) was hired to fix the problems, and a new release date was announced: Nov. 7, 2025.
While the production outlook finally seemed optimistic, by the summer of 2024, the reboot had suffered another setback, with Demange leaving “due to continued shifts in our production schedule,” Marvel told EW. Following his departure, Pearson, who worked on the reboot of “The Fantastic Four” and other MCU hits, stepped in with the promise to give the “Blade” reboot the storyline it deserved. But with no director on board, the project was once again delayed and has no official release date.
Plot specifics for the reboot are still murky, as the film has frequently shifted storylines and time periods as different writers have come and gone. According to the Hollywood Reporter, a version was set in the 1920s that featured Goth of the “X” trilogy as a vampire who wanted Blade’s daughter’s blood. More recently, a version required a massive train set (as yet unused). Now, with Pearson penning the screenplay (as of summer 2024), the plot remains unknown.
“Blade” is based on the Marvel Comic character of the same name, created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan.
Only Ali and Goth have been cast in the “Blade” reboot. Since Ali’s casting announcement, the Academy Award-winning actor has only played the antihero once in a voiceover cameo in MCU’s “Eternals.” At this point, his predecessor, Snipes, has had a bigger recent role as Blade in Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Snipes reprises the part briefly in the 2024 film— his first time donning the daywalker’s trademark shades since 2004.
Though more actors, including Lindo and Pierre, were attached to the “Blade” reboot, they were let go after production was shut down due to the 2023 SAG strikes. As development continues for the reboot, we hope to see more stars attached to the project.
There are no casting calls for the “Blade” reboot at the moment—and there may not be for a while. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t similar projects looking for talent now. In the past few years, we’ve posted casting calls for a number of other Marvel films, like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Madame Web.” Therefore, it’s always smart to bookmark our roundup of superhero gigs casting now to keep your acting résumé fresh. We also suggest checking out our guide to getting cast in the MCU so that when the reboot does begin casting, you’ll be ready.
While waiting for more development news about the “Blade” reboot, you can also check out casting news for similar projects:
- Everything We Know About the ‘Game of Thrones’ Movie
- Everything We Know About the New ‘American Psycho’ Adaptation
- Everything We Know About the ‘Friday the 13th’ Prequel Series ‘Crystal Lake’
- Everything We Know About the Netflix ‘Twilight’ Animated Series
- Everything We Know About the ‘Peaky Blinders’ Movie
- Everything We Know About Netflix’s ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ Adaptation
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Despite being slated to hit theaters on Nov. 7, 2025, Disney removed the remake from its schedule in November 2024. However, according to Deadline, Marvel is still “committed” to making the “Blade” reboot.
“We love the character; we love Mahershala’s version of him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still trying to figure out how it fits into our schedule, we let the public know. You’re up to date on what’s going on. But I can tell you that the character will be coming to the MCU,” says Feige.
Marvel has also added three untitled projects to its schedule in 2028, per Variety: Feb. 18, 2028, May 5, 2028, and Nov. 10, 2028. This means the remake could have any of those future dates if the project starts coming together.
Keep checking back here for more updates about Marvel’s “Blade” reboot.