Mahershala Ali believes Marvel shutting down Blade reboot is Kevin Feige's biggest failure. The actor, right after winning his second Oscar in the year 2019, pitched his own vision for a new Blade movie which they even officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con the same year. Ali framed it as his version of what Black Panther did for the MCU. For years, Marvel and Feige had been passively brainstorming ways to bring Blade into the MCU. But the script never came together.

Recently, Ali spoke about his disappointment with the shelved project, for which he even underwent more than a year of intensive physical and sword training.

Earlier this year, Kevin Feige shared in an episode of Happy Sad Confused that he felt like a "gigantic loser and failure" for not making Blade reboot happen. And Mahershala Ali has now agreed with that thought. The actor questioned the studio and Kevin Feige for their inability to get the project off the ground during a chat with GQ.

"To this day, I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I just know that it was—Kevin, he said it was the biggest failure of his career and I agree".

Ali could not overlook the fact that the MCU had all the resources, including a two-time Oscar-winning actor under contract, but still could not get Blade made, as he tells GQ. Earlier this year, he told GQ that he had officially moved on from Blade, adding that the movie would have been made if Marvel genuinely wanted to make it with the resources it had. Interestingly, Ali was even against Marvel announcing the project so early, a decision that ultimately backfired too when the script never came together.

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What began as an officially announced Blade reboot eventually unraveled due to a series of hurdles.

After the 2019 official announcement, Marvel hired Stacy Osei-Kuffour to write the script and Bassam Tariq to direct the reboot. However, due to creative differences, Tariq soon abruptly stepped away from the project, paving way for Yann Demange, just two months before filming was set to begin in 2022. Subsequently, the script writer was also replaced with Michael Starrbury. Then came the strikes in 2023.

Despite the discontinued production, Mahershala Ali kept training himself for the role without losing hope. However, in 2024, Marvel hires another director, after Demnage quits the project too. The breaking point arrived when Wesley Snipes reprised his role as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine, leading Disney to officially remove Blade from its theatrical release calendar.

Mahershala Ali Takes Shots on Marvel Over ‘Blade’ Movie Being Shelved

What do you think about Mahershala Ali's statement on Blade's cancellation? Let us know in the comments!