It has been more than five years since Marvel Studios initially announced that Mahershala Ali would star in a new version of “Blade,” but this vampire is still in its coffin as Disney has removed the film from its release slate and is now delayed indefinitely.
In its place, Disney will release a new “Predator” film titled “Predator: Badlands” in theaters on Nov. 7, 2025. The film marks the return of the ’80s horror icon to theaters after the critically acclaimed film “Prey” was released as a Hulu exclusive in 2022, with Dan Trachtenberg returning to direct and Elle Fanning in the lead role.
“Blade” has suffered repeated setbacks stemming both from its development process and from outside factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s industry strikes. The film lost its second director, Yann Demange, back in June and has gone through several rewrites.
“For the last few years, as we’ve been trying to crack that movie, the most important thing for us is not rushing it and making sure we are making the right Blade movie,” Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige told BlackTree TV this past July.
But where “Blade” fits in a Marvel Cinematic Universe that has seen immense upheaval since its cultural peak with “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019 is difficult to discern. The studio dropped Jonathan Majors after his domestic violence conviction last year, and with it the overarching storyline of his character, Kang the Conqueror, unleashing an assault on the multiverse.
Instead, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that MCU forefather and newly minted Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr. would return in “Avengers: Doomsday” as the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis, Doctor Doom. That film will be released in May 2026, while “Avengers: Secret Wars” will be released in May 2027.
Those “Avengers” films are currently the only Marvel films slated to come out in 2026 and ’27, with Marvel Studios adding three new placeholder slots in February, May and November of 2028. Whether “Blade” takes up one of those slots remains to be seen.
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