Featured Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Topics: MCU, Marvel, TV And Film, Disney
I’m usually an optimist, but I’m doubtful Marvel’s Blade film will ever see the light of day, at least in its current iteration.
The film was announced all the way back in 2021 and I personally did not realise it had been that long.
As I’m sure you’re aware, Mahershala Ali is due to take on the titular role as everyone’s favourite daywalker.
For now, the film remains in development but practically no progress has been made in the last six years.
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We know that two directors have departed the project; Bassam Tariq left the film in 2022 followed by Yann Demange in 2024.
No replacement has yet been named, signifying just how stuck in development hell the film is.
Blade has since surfaced in the MCU, albeit not in a live-action format.
The character is a key part of the recently released Marvel Zombies which is available on Disney Plus.
The animated series continues the events of the popular What If..? episode, ‘What if … Zombies?!’, with four episodes making up the first season.
It could be the show’s only season admittedly; it was always planned to be a limited-event although it’s rumoured that discussions of a second season are ongoing.
To draw attention to Blade’s inclusion in the series, where he’s voiced by actor Todd Williams, Marvel has dropped a little Blade-centric teaser trailer as reported by The Direct.
It’s only a ‘teaser’ if you haven’t yet already watched Marvel Zombies but it’s nice to see that Marvel Studios is at least aware of how popular and beloved Blade is as a character.
I should stress that if you haven’t yet seen Marvel Zombies, this is a very different take on the character to what you might have seen in the Wesley Snipes films.
Here, Blade is an avatar of Khonshu, which is a role we typically see fulfilled by Moon Knight.
As such, he dons a cool new costume.
As many have pointed out, the animated Blade does bear a resemblance to Mahershala Ali so it seems there’s still interest in finalling debuting Ali’s take on the character.
I won’t touch upon exactly how Blade’s tale plays out in Marvel Zombies because I highly suggest you just go and watch the series.
You can view the Blade teaser below.
Fans are pleased to see Blade, regardless of what iteration it is.
“The Daywalker finally enters the MCU,” wrote one Twitter/X viewer.
Hopefully this is the first of many long-awaited appearances.