Development of Blade (upcoming film)

Blade is a planned American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name in development at Marvel Studios and to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film is intended to be an installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise and a reboot of the Blade film series. Mahershala Ali has been attached to star in the title role since the film was announced in July 2019.

Marvel Studios regained the film rights for Blade by July 2011, following the earlier New Line Cinema franchise. Ali approached Marvel Studios about the character in February 2019, and the film and his casting were announced at San Diego Comic-Con that July; Ali first made a voice cameo as Blade in the MCU film Eternals (2021). Active development began in 2020, but the film has been in development hell since then, with Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange attached as directors to the film at different times over the years. Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Beau DeMayo, Michael Starrbury, Nic Pizzolatto, Michael Green, and Eric Pearson have worked on different versions of the script in that time. The film's release date was pushed back numerous times before Disney removed Blade from its release calendar in October 2024. The delays have been attributed to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, creative differences with the studio and Ali, and shifting priorities at Disney and Marvel. Marvel is searching for a new director and the film remains in development with Ali attached.

During the course of the film's development, two alternate versions of Blade have appeared in the MCU via the multiverse: Wesley Snipes reprised his role from the New Line series in the film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024); and a version known as Blade Knight, combining the character with Moon Knight, was voiced by Todd Williams in the animated miniseries Marvel Zombies (2025).