Blade Star Mahershala Ali Gives Hope the Delayed Movie Is Back on Track

Mahershala Ali says he's going to start working on Blade soon.

By Adam Barnhardt

Few projects have been delayed amid the pandemic and strikes more than Marvel's Blade, a reboot starring Mahersala Ali in the title role. Though the project keeps getting pushed back, Ali himself promises more updates for the film will be on the way before you know it.

"We're working on it. That's the best I could tell you," the actor said in a new chat with Entertainment Weekly. "I'm really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we'll be back at it relatively soon."

Not only has the film be delayed a handful of times because of "acts of God," but the production has undergone many changes behind the camera as well. The film lost its initial director in Bassam Tariq, and it was even reported at one point that Ali was getting close to leaving the project as well.

The latest iteration of the script was written by screenwriter Michael Starrbury, who has gone on-record to debunk any such reporting.

"I worked on a draft of this before the strike. Never saw a version where Blade was 4th lead or it was a 'narrative led by women and filled with life lessons' but I suppose a lot could have happened since I had anything to do with it. He was in 99% of the scripts I was a part of," Starrbury wrote on X (formerly Twitter). In a follow-up tweet, Starrbury added, "Whatever is going on with Blade I'm hoping for the best. Some good folks are involved in that joint."

It's not clear who's writing the project now or if Marvel Studios is going to shoot from Starrbury's script. In addition to Ali, other actors in the film include Delroy Lindo, Aaron Pierre, and Mia Goth amongst others.

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Blade is currently set for release on February 14, 2025. The original Blade trilogy starring Wesley Snipes is now streaming on Hulu.

What other characters would you like to see make up the MCU's new Midnight Suns team? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!

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