Marvel's Blade Reboot Has Had 'Three or Four' Different Versions So Far — but Now the Studio Is Finally Set on What It's Going to Do

After years of pre-production enactment and "three oregon four" antithetic versions of the movie being considered, Marvel has yet nailed down the information its long-awaited Blade reboot volition beryllium acceptable successful the modern day.

First announced backmost successful 2019 and erstwhile acceptable to statesman filming successful 2022, the Mahershala Ali-starring movie has struggled to get disconnected the crushed wrong Marvel implicit the past fewer years.

Now, Marvel brag Kevin Feige has shed airy connected what has held up the project, the information astir each those humanities costumes Marvel gave to Ryan Coogler for usage connected Sinners, and offered confirmation determination was a way guardant for its long-gestating vampire Blade task still.

Speaking to Variety, Feige explained Blade's continuing delays arsenic a effect of the film's expected prime not being bully enough.

"We didn't privation to simply conscionable enactment a leather outfit connected him and person him commencement sidesplitting vampires. It had to beryllium unique," Feige said of Ali's instrumentality connected the character. "It fell into the clip erstwhile we started pulling backmost and saying, 'Only judge insanely great.' And it wasn't 'insanely great' astatine the time."

Here, Feige is referencing Marvel's much caller determination to chopped backmost connected its output aft admitting that, post-Avengers Endgame, it had suffered from focusing excessively overmuch connected quantity implicit quality.

"We didn't consciousness like, arsenic we often do, you tin person a bully publication and marque it a large publication done production," Feige continued. "We didn't consciousness assured that we could bash that connected Blade, and we didn't privation to bash that to Mahershala and didn't privation to bash that to us."

Marvel continued to effort and make the project, moving done "three oregon four" iterations of a story, 2 of which were play pieces. At slightest 1 of these we cognize was owed to beryllium acceptable astir the 1920s, arsenic accumulation got truthful adjacent to opening determination was a warehouse of costumes made — that past were near surplus to requirements.

Earlier this month, Sinners shaper Sev Ohanian made the astonishing revelation that these costumes were past worn connected Sinners alternatively — thing aided by the information that costume decorator Ruth Carter worked connected some projects.

"She happened to person a warehouse afloat of period-appropriate clothes, and it was like, 'Yo, we got to sprout this movie similar tomorrow.' And Marvel was generous capable and benignant capable to fto america fundamentally acquisition it astatine price," Ohanian said.

Mahershala Ali. Image credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

Now, Feige has not lone confirmed that this merchantability happened, but that it was a effect of Marvel's renewed absorption connected processing Blade arsenic a modern day-set communicative instead.

"We've landed connected modern day," Feige said. "Which is wherefore we could springiness those costumes backmost to Ruth, and that's what we're focusing on."

All of that said, Blade's accomplishment inactive seems immoderate mode off. The adjacent fewer years volition spot Marvel heads down connected getting Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars retired the door, arsenic good arsenic Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

And speaking of the Avengers films, with galore different aged faces returning, could we spot different reappearance of Wesley Snipes' classical mentation of Blade, past seen successful Deadpool & Wolverine? And could Feige's caller comments astir Secret Wars acting arsenic a "reset" for the franchise beryllium Marvel's mode of introducing Mahershala Ali's Blade, successful the aforesaid mode the workplace has present said it volition recast the X-Men?

Image credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social