Marvel’s Kevin Feige Jokes MCU Blade Delays Make Him Feel Like “Gigantic Loser and Failure”
In just two days’ time, it will have been seven years since Marvel announced Mahershala Ali as star of a Blade MCU reboot. Incredibly, since then all we’ve had is Ali’s voice in Eternals‘ post-credits scene, and an animated Blade variant of Ali in Marvel Zombies. The movie itself has languished in a Development Hell far more disturbing than anything Chthon could create with the Darkhold, despite Ali’s eagerness to take up the role. Nobody’s quite sure why Marvel is finding Blade so hard.
Speaking to Joshua Horowitz, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige handled Blade questions with humor. Horowitz treated it like a therapy session, and Feige noted he was proud they got Wesley Snipes back for Deadpool & Wolverine – but that “I feel like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”
Will Marvel’s Blade Reboot Ever Happen?
It was all a joke, of course, but notice Feige’s inadvertent slip in tense; there’s a sense of finality to his response, suggesting Ali’s Blade is likely over. After seven years, it would sadly make sense; Ali is a talented actor who’s very much in demand, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he really has moved on now. I have to confess that I cannot understand why Blade is so difficult, given the premise is wonderfully simple; he’s a vampire hunter, tackling the undead. Marvel’s past reluctance to create R-rated movies likely slowed things down, but we live in a post-Deadpool & Wolverine timeline now.
Remarkably, Blade has been in limbo for even longer than this. Back in 2012, Kate Beckinsale revealed she’d dreamed of an Underworld / Blade crossover, only for Marvel to say no because they were “doing something” with Blade. Ten years later, there’s no real sign of what that “something” really is, because Marvel don’t seem to know what to do with Blade. It’s hard not to conclude this is one hero who has been handled particularly poorly by Marvel Studios.
Blade isn’t the only one, of course, and oddly he inhabits the same supernatural corner as other characters who’ve been let down. Think of Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight, who starred in a fantastic first season but hasn’t been seen since; or the characters from the Werewolf By Night Special Presentation. In the comics, these characters are often drawn together as an informal “Midnight Sons” team, and it’s odd that every single one of them is basically in one form of limbo or another. Ali’s Blade is the worst-served, but he’s not alone.
We can only hope Feige’s tense was unintentional, and doesn’t indicate Blade has been consigned to Development Hell for good. Many are hoping Marvel will use this week’s SDCC Hall H panel to announce some of their post-Secret Wars plans, perhaps introducing some members of the X-Men cast, and it’s possible we could get some insight into the MCU’s supernatural future too. Hopefully, this will include some sort of commitment on Blade.
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