Yes, it's taking a while, but a new Blade movie is coming to the MCU. First revealed in 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con, the day-walking vampire is coming back — as Mahershala Ali replaces Wesley Snipes in the upcoming Marvel movie.
Heck, we even got a tease of the character in a recent Marvel movie (more on that below). But how long will we have to wait to see the day-walker?
The good news is that there's been a report that we may see Blade in the MCU prior to his movie coming out — much like how Echo appeared in Hawkeye before her upcoming Marvel series.
Blade movie release date
Blade's been delayed from Sept. 6, 2024 to Feb. 14, 2025. This new release date came in a blast of Marvel, Star Wars and Avatar release date changes.
Blade was originally scheduled for Nov. 3, 2023.
Blade (MCU) actor and reported cast
Mahershala Ali is playing Blade in the MCU. Kevin Feige made the announcement at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, handing Ali a "Blade" hat before the logo hit the screen on stage. Ali succeeds Wesley Snipes who played the character in the trilogy of films released from 1998 to 2004 by Marvel Entertainment and New Line Cinema.
Ali is joined by three other reported cast members, as Deadline broke the news that Aaron Pierce (Krypton) and Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods) have also been cast. Marvel has not confirmed that report as of yet, and no reports have tipped what characters will be played by Pierce or Lindo.
The latest piece of casting news, is Mia Goth joining Mavel's Blade in a TBA role. A fast-rising star, Goth seems like a perfect fit for a vampire action movie.
As for a Wesley Snipes appearance? Nothing has been reported or rumored, but Snipes told Entertainment Tonight that he was open to coming back, saying "You never know. Under the right circumstances, I'm open to play with everybody. I know that people associate me with that role. The Daywalker community out there is a part of the Daywalker clique and our global community identifies with a little bit of that world and the new definition of Daywalkers, these global hyphenated multi-talented individuals capable of doing more things at one time, skill masters, as we call them. So, we gon' keep going, we gon' keep bringing." He also harbors no ill will to Ali, saying "I'm one thousand percent supportive of it. I think it's great. Go for it, my man."
Blade (MCU) Eternals Easter egg
We got our first crumb of Mahershala Ali as Blade in one of the two Eternals post-credits scenes. After Dane Whitman (Kit Harrington) opens a big wooden box — that has "Mors mihi lucrum,” (aka “Death is my reward") carved on it — he finds The Ebony Blade, the weapon of Black Knight (whom Whitman becomes in the comics).
Then, we hear the voice of Mahershala Ali say "Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?" before the film cuts to black.
Blade (MCU) director leaves the film
Bassam Tariq was directing Blade. Tariq, a documentarian whose works have earned applause on the independent scene, talked with Tom's Guide in 2021, but he didn't spill many beans about the movie.
Instead, he praised his writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour and his producer Eric Carroll. Best known for films such as These Birds Walk and Ghosts of Sugar Land, Tariq is similar to Eternals director Chloé Zhao in that he's likely relatively unknown among Marvel fans.
Yann Demange (Lovecraft Country), is the new director.
Marvel told The Hollywood Reporter that "Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film ... We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is."
