Fans have been excited beyond measure for Mahershala Ali’s portrayal of Blade in the new reboot for the MCU. While the character has already been adapted once with Wesley Snipes in the lead, this would be the first time that the character would be shown in the MCU and would appear along with other Marvel characters.
While Ali’s inclusion was announced way back in 2019, the film has been delayed numerous times. The actor only had a brief voice cameo in the post-credits scene of Eternals but has not made any other appearances since. It was rumored that the actor was not satisfied with the script and was threatening to exit the role after four years of no updates.
Has Mahershala Ali Left Blade?
Mahershala Ali was announced as the Blade of the MCU in 2019 at the San Diego International Comic Con. According to Deadline, Ali made an appearance on stage to announce his involvement in the franchise. The character was previously adapted to film starring Wesley Snipes and had three films in the franchise. A Fantastic Four film was also announced the same year.
However, since its announcement, there have only been a few updates regarding the film, and it does not seem to be going at a quicker pace. The film was earlier announced to be released on November 2025 after numerous delays. While French director Yann Demange was still attached as the director, the film reportedly went through several scriptwriters.
Earlier this week, rumors began circulating around social media that Mahershala Ali had finally exited the role. According to Comic Book Movie, the rumors indicated that Ali had a falling out with Marvel President Kevin Feige and had departed from the project. However, popular scooper Daniel Richtman mentioned that it was not the case.
Industry insider Jeff Sneider was also reportedly confident that Mahershala Ali had not left the MCU just yet. Richtman mentioned that Blade Runner 2049 and Logan screenwriter Michael Green had begun working on the script for the Blade film.
Production Woes On Mahershala Ali’s Blade
It has been five years since the announcement of Mahershala Ali as Blade in the MCU. The film would be Ali’s third Marvel role after he played Cottonmouth in Luke Cage and Aaron Davis a.k.a The Prowler in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse. However, the Blade film has faced numerous production delays, with the film still reportedly being at the scripting stage.
Mogul Mowgli director Bassam Tariq was reportedly first hired as a director for Blade, which then had a release date of November 2023. Watchmen writer Stacey Ossei-Kuffur was reportedly tapped as the screenwriter for the project. However, with two months left for production to start, Tarriq departed the project as a director (via Instagram).
French director Yann Demange was hired as the director of the film after Tarriq’s exit. According to EW, the film was then halted due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, and the release was further pushed. While speculations were rife that the film was in big trouble, Mahershala Ali assured fans that the film was in development. He said to EW,
“I’m really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we’ll be back at it relatively soon…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.”
The actor assured the fans that he was happy with the direction of the project. There were rumors that one of the drafts of the script included Ali’s Blade as a third or fourth lead, which was unacceptable for a Blade reboot (via Comic Book Movie). Apart from Mahershala Ali, the film also stars Aaron Pierre, Mia Goth, and Delroy Lindo.
