Kevin Feige has shed a little more light on Blade, the long-delayed reboot that has weathered multiple setbacks, creative resets, and the loss of two directors.
Though it remains without a release date — and was officially removed from Marvel’s calendar in 2024 — the film is still in development, with Feige confirming it’s now set in the modern day. And yes, Mahershala Ali remains attached to star.
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“We Landed on Modern Day”
During a sit-down with journalists, Feige revealed that Marvel had developed four versions of Blade, including two period-set takes — one of them set in the 1930s. “We landed on modern day and that’s what we’re focusing on,” he said, as quoted by Variety.
The film has been in the works for over a decade. Marvel regained the rights to Blade following New Line’s Blade trilogy (1998–2004), with internal development beginning by 2013. In July 2019, Feige officially announced the reboot at San Diego Comic-Con, bringing Ali on stage to reveal him as the new Blade — a moment that closed out the studio’s major slate reveal to rapturous applause.
Ali later made an uncredited voice cameo in Eternals (2021), but his standalone film has remained elusive ever since.
Why Marvel Pressed Pause on Production
The project has cycled through multiple creatives over the years. Director Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) exited in September 2022, with Yann Demange (’71) later stepping in — only to depart in mid-2024. Feige addressed the ongoing delays and stressed that Marvel didn’t want to proceed without being fully confident in the material.
“You can start and have a good script and make it a great script through production, but we didn’t feel confident we could do that on Blade,” he said. “We didn’t want to do that to Mahershala and didn’t want to do that to us.”
Feige added: “We didn’t want to put a leather outfit on [Ali] and have him start killing vampires.”
Ryan Coogler Not Involved — But He Did Borrow Some Costumes
The success of Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s 1930s-set vampire film released earlier this year, sparked speculation that he might be tapped to direct Blade. Feige quickly shut that down.
“There are no such plans,” he said, confirming Coogler remains committed to Black Panther 3.
Still, Feige joked about a behind-the-scenes favour: “The obstacle was Ryan Coogler called and said, ‘We’d love some costumes for Sinners.’ And we said, ‘Take them, man.’ He’s our good friend, take our costumes. We’ll hold off on the movie.”
Where Blade Stands Now
There’s still no firm release date, and the project remains without a director. However, writing duties are now in the hands of Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow), who is working on the latest draft.
Despite the frustrations and false starts, Feige’s update marks a small step toward transparency — and confirmation that Marvel hasn’t shelved the Daywalker just yet.
