Mahershala Ali is reportedly still attached to star in Marvel Studios’ Blade following online rumors suggesting the actor may have dropped out of the movie.
On February 15, online rumors began circulating that Ali may be considering exiting Marvel Studios’ upcoming Blade movie following a number of different setbacks.
According to Jeff Sneider’s The InSneider, Ali is still set to star in the movie. Sneider reports that “the script is just starting to round into shape and get to a place where he’s comfortable moving forward.”
What’s going on with Marvel’s Blade reboot?
Marvel first announced that a Blade reboot was in the works at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. Since then, the movie has run into a number of different preproduction issues, with original director Bassam Tariq walking away from the movie shortly after it set a November 2023 release date.
According to a November 2023 article shared by Variety, Ali was nearly ready to walk away from Blade at one point when the script “morphed into a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons.” That version of the script reportedly had Blade as the fourth lead in the film.
Blade is now being directed by Yann Demange, while Logan writer Michael Green is working on the script. The movie was supposed to begin filming in June 2023; however, it was delayed because of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes.
Ali told Entertainment Weekly in a December 2023 article that he’s now “sincerely encouraged in terms of where things are at and who’s on board and who’s leading the way as far as the writing of the script and the directing and all that.” So far, the actor has only appeared in the MCU via a brief voice cameo featured in the post-credit scene of 2021’s Eternals.
Blade is currently scheduled to release on November 7, 2025, from Marvel Studios.
