The woes of the MCU’s iteration ofBladecontinue as the troubled movie has been once again removed from Disney’s slate of upcoming releases. Having been planned for a November 2025 release, that spot has now been taken over by Dan Trachtenberg’s nextPredatormovie, leavingMahershala Ali’s Blade debut in limbo once again.
While this seems like just another blow for fans that have been awaiting the arrival of the new Daywalker for five years and counting, there seems to be a good reason behind the delays that may make the film well worth the extended wait. Kevin Feige previously stated that the most important thing was to getBladeright, and make the best film possible.Having taken quite a beating over the content that seemed to be rushed out in 2021 and 2022, it has become clear that the future of the franchise is all about quality over quantity, and that apparently means that fans could be forced to wait longer for some of the previously announced titles making it to cinemas.
The disappointing news forBladeis good news for fans of 2022 hitPrey, the surprisingPredatorprequel movie that proved the franchise can thrive under the Disney banner.The July 11, 2025, slot that was previously occupied byBladewill now be the release day ofPredator: Badlands, the standalonePredatormovie starring Elle Fanning.
Blade Gets Another Indefinite Delay
The production ofBladeis one that seemed to be very straight forward when the movie was announced in 2019. However, the reality of developing a movie based around a character that has previously been played by Wesley Snipes in four movies –including his unexpected appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine- has been proving a real pain in the neck for Marvel Studios.
Blade’s troubles partially stemmed from the general delays caused by the Covid pandemic, when many projects that had been set in motion seemed to lose traction and direction. However, several reports claimed that the script for the film was not up to scratch, and soon after, Marvel Studios parted ways with director Bassam Tariq, leading toBladeundergoing its first overhaul. While Yann Demange joined the project with a new directorial vision and writing team, he also exited in June this year, leaving the movie with an almost impossible task of achieving its 2025 release date.
One of the MCU’s Most Troubled Productions May Have a New Director
With fans wondering if the Blade reboot will ever see the light of day, Marvel Studios may have finally found someone new to take the helm
Now it seems like Marvel Studios has decided that it will be too much of a tough ask to turn aroundBladewithin a year – hardly surprising – so that means we once again have no idea when Ali will finally get to make good on his post-credit voiceover fromEternalsand appear on screen as Blade.Additionally, the replacement ofBladewithPredator: Badlandspotentially means that 2025 will see its roster of MCU releases being reduced from four to three.Captain America: Brave New Worldwill arrive in February, followed byThunderbolts*in May, andFantastic Four: First Stepsin July.
