Overview
- Mahershala Ali told GQ on Friday that he has “moved on” and will not play Blade in Marvel’s version, saying “Not with me” when asked if the film is closer to production.
- Ali placed responsibility for the film’s failure with Marvel Studios, saying the studio had the resources and his contract and that “if they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it.”
- The Blade reboot spent seven years in development with multiple writers, directors and rewrites, and director Bassam Tariq left the project in 2022 before production stalled further.
- Ali trained for over a year for the role and says he used that preparation on Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, a new film he made with Tariq after Blade collapsed.
- Marvel chief Kevin Feige has publicly called the missed Blade launch a failure and the studio has kept the character present through a voice cameo, animation and Wesley Snipes’ return while pursuing other supernatural entries such as a Ghost Rider film.