Mahershala Ali Drives Another Stake Into the MCU’s Blade Heart

Mahershala Ali has delivered the latest and perhaps most telling sign of trouble for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s long-suffering Blade reboot. During a recent appearance on Vogue‘s Off the Cut podcast to promote Jurassic World Rebirth, Ali responded to a question about his Marvel movie appearances with a blunt and dismissive comment. The interaction suggests a deep-seated frustration with the vampire hunter project, which was first announced to massive fanfare at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. In the six years since, the film has been trapped in a state of developmental purgatory, plagued by production halts and a string of discouraging updates that have left its future in serious doubt.

Ali’s revealing moment came when Jurassic World Rebirth co-star Jonathan Bailey asked the cast how many Marvel movies they had appeared in. “Leave me out of it,” Ali stated. “That’s a Scarlett question,” he underlined, referring to his Jurassic World Rebirth co-star Scarlett Johansson.

This comment follows a similar statement Ali made during the Jurassic World Rebirth premiere, where he said, “Call Marvel. I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready.” To date, Ali’s only official MCU appearance has been an off-screen voice cameo at the end of 2021’s Eternals. Meanwhile, Blade has cycled through an astonishing number of creative teams, having lost two directors, Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, and has seen its screenplay worked on by a succession of high-profile writers, including Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Beau DeMayo, Michael Green, and Eric Pearson. Blade‘s instability has also impacted the cast, with actor Delroy Lindo confirming his departure after what he described as a promising start that “for whatever reason, it just went off the rails.” 

Blade‘s troubles became so concrete that physical assets from the production were sold off. Sinners producer Sev Ohanian revealed that costumes originally created by designer Ruth Carter for a 1920s-set version of Blade were sold to the production of Ryan Coogler’s hit vampire film. Compounding an already shaky situation, David S. Goyer, screenwriter of the original Blade trilogy, revealed he had his agent contact Marvel to offer his help, but was told, “We think we’ve cracked it now, and we’re in a good place.” Shortly after Marvel declined his offer, the project was officially pulled from Disney’s release schedule, leaving it without a director or a release date.

Is Blade Being Replaced by the Midnight Sons?

While the Blade solo film continues to languish, recent reports suggest Marvel Studios is actively developing another major supernatural project that could be taking its place as a priority, Midnight Sons. Furthermore, recent rumors suggest that Ghost Rider is now being positioned to lead the eventual Midnight Sons team-up movie, a role that was widely assumed to be Blade’s. This potential shift in leadership aligns with other reports that the Midnight Sons film has returned to active development at the same time Blade remains indefinitely stalled.

Further evidence suggests that Marvel is laying the groundwork for a Ghost Rider-centric supernatural team. The studio confirmed that Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) is expected to return in a future movie, and as a classic Midnight Sons member, his involvement is key. More significantly, the Disney+ series Agatha All Along introduced the powerful sorceress Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata). In the comics, Jennifer Kale has deep ties to the mystical corner of the Marvel universe, is a member of the Midnight Sons, and is the cousin of the first two Ghost Riders, Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch. Finally, Ironheart has recently introduced Mephisto, a villain with deep ties to Ghost Rider in the comic books.

Do you think Mahershala Ali’s Blade will ever see the light of day in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!