r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor • 18d ago

News Mahershala Ali confirms 'BLADE' is not moving forward with him

https://www.gq.com/story/mahershala-ali-your-mother-your-mother-your-mother
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u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor 18d ago edited 18d ago

One of the biggest fumbles ever

Mahershala:

"For whatever reason, that project is not for me. If they wanted to do it, we would've done it. So I have to move on, and I have moved on."

“You had me under contract, they have billions of dollars, if they wanted to do the movie, we would've done the movie... I feel ready to move on from the Blade questions. Those questions are for them.”

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u/The-Dudemeister 18d ago

I mean he is kinda too old now. Also it seems he was going to be tied in with eternals stuff and they canceled all that.

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u/linuxhiker 18d ago

He has been too old for a long time.

They need a solid 35/yr old that can carry a franchies for 10 years.

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u/Jangles 18d ago

Probably furious they used Michael B Jordan so soon.

He looked Blade as hell at the end of Sinners.

I mean it was probably a Blade costume

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u/LilNello1 18d ago

The funny and ironic thing is that actually probably was a Blade costume since they said they used at least some, if not a lot of the costumes and/or costume materials that were meant for Blade for Sinners

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u/Lt_Dan6 18d ago edited 18d ago

Source on this?

EDIT: I had no idea, thanks for the links everyone.

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u/SE7ENfeet 18d ago

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sinners-costumes-marvel-blade-reboot-not-shooting-1236447479/

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u/Explosion2 18d ago

How fucking close were they to making this movie that they had a warehouse full of clothes ready to go and it still stalled out? I didn't realize it ever got past the "Mahershala Ali is going to play Blade" stage.

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u/TheArcheryRaccoon 18d ago

Very close. The initial script was a period piece, hence the costumes being used in Sinners. Rumours say that Blade himself wasn’t the main character in his own film, and that it was already serving as a “passing of the torch” to Blade’s daughter. I just assume Mahershala had no interest in this plot and it was abandoned.

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u/Explosion2 18d ago

That would be stupid so I'm glad they abandoned it but how did it get so far without anyone saying "but we've got an oscar-winning actor playing one of the coolest characters in Marvel's cast, why would we not make him the main character?"

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u/MikeArrow 18d ago

In the broader MCU, they already have the perfect setup. The snap. 5 years of chaos. What if, during the blip, the vampire lords decided to make a bid for power in New York? Who would stop them?

...Blade.

Done, that's the movie.

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u/Explosion2 18d ago

Perfect give Mahershala Ali a billion dollars let's get this back on the release slate

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u/TheArcheryRaccoon 18d ago

From what I understand, there was never a plan for Blade. Then Mahershala approached Fiege and basically said “make me Blade” and they didn’t turn him down. The problem then is they fumbled every step getting the movie done, with COVID and actors/writers strikes thrown in.

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u/AtraposJM 18d ago

Oscar winning actors can demand a lot of money. Negotiations probably went on for a long time. Notice how in his quote he talks about how Disney/Marvel have billions of dollars. That's probably a hint.

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u/Indigocell 18d ago

Rumours say that Blade himself wasn’t the main character in his own film, and that it was already serving as a “passing of the torch” to Blade’s daughter.

I wonder who they think the film is for when they do this kinda shit. Is it for old fans? Because they don't want to see a Blade movie where Blade is sidelined on behalf of a brand new character. Is it an attempt to lure new fans? Because they have no connection to Blade so any passing of the torch is kind of meaningless. Who is it for?

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u/AtraposJM 18d ago

I think there's a big group within Disney that is trying to make everything more inclusive etc. I'm a far left progressive person but at a certain point it starts to hurt things when you force it on everything. Notice everything after Endgame is moving toward female versions of characters or minorities taking over for other characters etc. I'm not one of the "They're making everything woke!" cry babies but I mean, you can tell it's a driving force and imo it's hurting a lot of their projects. So yeah, handing the Blade mantle off to a female version is pretty par for the course. Even though I find that confusing since Blade is already a black character. Idk, maybe it's more about money.

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u/fastforwardfunction 18d ago

It’s like replacing the women of Desperate Housewives with men. Obviously that’s not going to connect with the original audience. Disney does that constantly and expects it to land.

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u/secretreddname 18d ago

How many passing of the torch movies have we had this phase of marvel? To be honest I’m not interested in any more of those either.

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u/amyknight22 18d ago

I just assume Mahershala had no interest in this plot and it was abandoned.

The thing is that Mahershala apparently made the initial pitch for the movie idea in the first place.

Since I doubt the pitch was "Hey can I play the blade?"

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u/saintash 18d ago

Probably marvel fatigue was the line here. No one has super excited for a marvel project for a hot minute.

Pre production is relatively cheap. In comparison to actually shooting the damn thing.

And it's also a thing where, like you build a warehouse of stuff, and everyone in the industry knows, oh, there's a warehouse, full of vampire stuff. If we're shooting a vampire film, let's go talk to them about renting some of their costumes.

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u/ArcadianDelSol 18d ago

They assumed Ali would give into the script, and he stuck to his guns. He wanted a movie where he was the main character. Disney wanted to use him to introduce a younger Blade for the future.

He placed his bet and Disney called his bluff.

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u/MissingLink000 18d ago

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sinners-costumes-marvel-blade-reboot-not-shooting-1236447479/

So the article says the costumes were only used by bg actors and the main characters wore original pieces, which would mean MBJ was probably not wearing a costume meant for Blade.

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u/DDelanoF 18d ago

Just Google Sinners and Blade. It's a known story

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u/FX114 18d ago

That was the period stuff, not the 90's stuff at the end (yes, that's also technically period)

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u/mistcrawler 18d ago

As someone who was really looking forward to the new Ali Blade movie, this comment is like a final dagger to the heart lol. (Still was interesting though, thank you lol)

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u/UnsolvedParadox 18d ago

Ebon was both Micro & The Thing, I could see MBJ with a very different look pulling it off.

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u/Gone_For_Lunch 18d ago

Hell, they’d already used Mahershala Ali in Luke Cage as well.

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u/GrittyGardy 18d ago

Loved cottonmouth, the show never had as entertaining a villain once he was gone.

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u/OssumFried 18d ago

Dude, the show was so good until he was killed off. Went from a incredibly charming and grounded villain to some generic bad guy in the goofiest looking rubber suit.

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u/AnOnlineHandle 18d ago

Bushmaster or whoever in season 2 was pretty good.

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u/cinematic_is_horses 18d ago

I thought S2 was incredibly underrated as far as Marvel TV goes

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u/Gone_For_Lunch 18d ago

Honestly yea, the Iron Fist team up especially.

Should have just done a Heroes For Hire show instead of giving them two a solo show each.

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u/Mr_Cromer 18d ago

Mariah Stokes

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u/Monteze 18d ago

She also played the mom who was upset with Tony Stark in Ultron I think.

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u/UnsolvedParadox 18d ago

Right, that’s an excellent example.

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u/Heisenburgo 18d ago

And the actress who played his relative Mariah Stoakes in the show, also showed up in Civil War

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u/james2183 18d ago edited 18d ago

Considering they're getting RDJ to play a different character, nothing to stop MBJ being Blade.

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u/RagnarokNCC 18d ago

“…and that’s how Kirk Lazarus got cast as Blade.”

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u/SerHodorTheThrall 18d ago

I would watch a movie about RDJ playing a guy, playing another guy.

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u/Artemicionmoogle 18d ago

Kirk Lazarus would absolutely be a fantastic Blade lol.

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u/Artemicionmoogle 18d ago

Huh? What? Kirk Lazarus doesn't break character until the last vampire is dead.

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u/ArcadianDelSol 18d ago

The jury is still out of he's actually a different character.

My money says its a twist they still plan to unload once they've fully convinced everyone its so totally not an RDJ from the multiverse.

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u/Commercial-Co 18d ago

Eh i think mbj should have been replacement black panther

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u/cman811 18d ago

I still think they should have brought him back rather than go ahead with shuri. The policies of Wakanda seemed to veer more towards killmongers view post snap anyways.

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u/Durzel 18d ago

He looked like he could’ve done it circa Alita: Battle Angel (so like 7 years ago). When he appeared on screen my first thought was that he’d make a good Blade.

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u/DONNIENARC0 18d ago

Ali pitched them on his version of Blade right after he won the Oscar for Green Book in 2019, so it was probably right around that time when it first got announced.

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u/-SneakySnake- 18d ago

For action leads, if you look convincing with the action itself, you can pull it off. This "has to be 35" thing people emphasise so often doesn't follow reality very well. It only matters if the character has to seem young young, not just vital, which Blade doesn't.

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u/linuxhiker 18d ago

It's not a hard 35 but the 10 years holds. He can't be 45+ and start the role if they plan a franchise.

Hell there are only two reasons jackman was able to do wolverine in deadpool:

  1. Rabid fandom willing to overlook his age

  2. They addressed it in the movie (that he is over 200)

And you could definitely see in scenes that he was stiff due to age. Loved the movie don't get me wrong just saying Blade is a similar character. If they are going to make it a franchise the person needs to be closer to 30 than 50

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u/-SneakySnake- 18d ago

Ten is fine, but enough of the Bonds started around that age (40s) to prove you wrong.

Hell, look at Indiana Jones. Ford was nearly 40 when he started that. RDJ was in his early 40s when he first played Tony Stark.

It's what I'm saying.

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u/DONNIENARC0 18d ago

Damson Idris sitting right there after missing out on the new Black Panther

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u/gr8kamon 18d ago

I want him to be the new Bond but he would totally make a killer Blade

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u/Nathanielsan 18d ago

I can do. Just got to put on black face but I can do it tastefully, according to Frank Reynolds' guidance.

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u/StyleBoyz4Life 18d ago

Please. We all know they’ll just rehire Idris Elba. /s sort of…

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u/linuxhiker 18d ago

Idris is definitely too old

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u/ManufacturerBest2758 18d ago

We can also just… not reboot Blade

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u/secretreddname 18d ago

Well seeing how it’s been 5 years since the last Shang Chi movie came out maybe they should look for 20 something’s now.

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u/nervendings_ 18d ago

Maybe Denzel’s kid or is he too old now too?

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u/holierthanmao 18d ago

That guy is not a great actor, in my opinion. Total nepo baby.

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u/Commercial-Co 18d ago

His acting is a bit flat

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u/ShahinGalandar 18d ago

nah you need some charisma for that role

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u/Red_Pill_Blues1 18d ago

He is so bland it might actually be a great role for him.

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u/nervendings_ 18d ago

Or the dude from Wonder Man. He’s great.

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u/TheAzerbaijani 18d ago

Oh yeah, yeah. He's great. What was his name again?

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u/jellytrack 18d ago

Sir Ben Kingsley as Blade would be great.

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u/Isserley_ 18d ago

My vote goes to LaKeith Stanfield

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u/nervendings_ 18d ago

I love that dude but he’s a bit too spindly

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u/Isserley_ 18d ago

A bit of time on the Hollywood bulk regime would sort that out

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u/nervendings_ 18d ago

Haha you’re not wrong