When you’re the head of the biggest film series in the world, things are bound to slip through the cracks. Kevin Feige may be the mastermind of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he’s not an infallible robot, as much as the She-Hulk finale may attempt to convince you otherwise. He’s no stranger to overcommitting and announcing projects too early — including his own Star Wars movie, which was quietly shelved.
But of all of Marvel and Feige’s unrealized projects, one stands above the rest: Blade. The MCU remake of the classic vampire movie was initially supposed to star Mahershala Ali, but ever since its big glitzy announcement in 2019, every update has been disappointing. Now, it seems the project has finally been put out of its misery, or at least that’s what Kevin Feige is implying.
During an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Feige spoke about his feelings on Blade. But instead of being optimistic about the future like in previous updates, he just sounded disappointed. “I am feeling like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala,” he said, while also acknowledging how exciting it was that Wesley Snipes appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Since Blade was announced in 2019, two directors and a whopping seven screenwriters have been attached to the project. Over its various drafts, it’s reportedly been a Prohibition-era period piece, a female-led movie incorporating “life lessons,” and a straightforward movie about slaying vampires. But after the second director, Yann Demange, left the project in mid-2024, updates have been sparse, and the release date — already pushed back multiple times — was removed from the calendar altogether.
Now Feige’s comments make it sound like the Blade movie is never happening. That doesn’t mean the character will never appear in the MCU; in fact, he’s already appeared as “Blade Knight” in Disney+’s animated What If. But it certainly sounds like Feige is grieving Mahershala Ali’s version.
With rumors swirling about a possible Midnight Sons crossover movie featuring Ghost Rider, Moon Knight and, yes, Blade, the character may somehow find a way to live on. But Ali’s take on Blade, as a big, solo, spotlight affair like Wesley Snipes made famous in the ‘90s, doesn’t seem like it will happen. That must be disappointing for fans to hear, but after years of hope and disappointment, maybe it’s best to finally move on to the “acceptance” stage of the grieving process.
