Mahershala Ali says Marvel’s ‘Blade’ is over for him, blames studio

Mahershala Ali reveals he will not take part in the long-postponed Blade reboot by Marvel Studios, putting full responsibility for the project’s collapse on the studio, which is now seven years after his casting to the role was met with thunderous applause at San Diego Comic-Con.

During a recent interview with GQ, when he was asked whether there were any updates regarding the filming of the project, the actor and two-time Oscar winner replied, “Not with me.”

According to Ali, he had been working under contract with Marvel Studios for several years, and the studio could produce the film whenever it wanted. “If they wanted to do the movie, we would’ve done the movie,” he told GQ. Ali said he is tired of being constantly asked about this project, suggesting people should contact Marvel and ask why it did not want to make this film.

“For whatever reason, that project is not for me,” Ali said.

Marvel Studios presented Ali as Blade in July 2019 during Hall H at Comic-Con, where he wore a “Blade” cap. At that time, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said that after Ali won the Academy Award for Green Book, he himself contacted the studio to play this character, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

The film had never gone into production. In 2022, the film’s director, Bassam Tariq, reportedly quit the project shortly before shooting was scheduled to start, says Consequence. Another director, Yann Demange, left the project as well, and the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike caused further delay, adds Deadline. This film has suffered from multiple rewrites and changing release dates for almost seven years.

Ali’s only appearance as this character was an uncredited voice cameo in the end-credits scene of Eternals (2021), as reported by ComicBook.com. The version of Blade that looks like Ali was featured in the animated series Marvel Zombies, voiced by Todd Williams, Deadline reported.