Seven years. Three directors. Two strikes. One voice cameo in “Eternals.” That’s the entire visible legacy of Marvel Studios’ “Blade” reboot starring Mahershala Ali — and Thursday, Ali finally said what everyone had long suspected.
“If they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it,” Ali told GQ in an interview promoting his new action thriller “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.” “So I have to move on, and I have moved on.” He didn’t stop there. According to him, his contract was never the obstacle, saying the studio had more than enough money to make the project happen if it truly wanted to. So we’re not doing the movie.” The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the interview dropped Thursday morning, calling the comments “about as definitive as it gets.”
The project was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, with Ali — coming off back-to-back Oscars for “Moonlight” and “Green Book” — receiving a standing ovation from Hall H just for walking out to confirm he’d be playing the Daywalker, per Complex. What followed was a case study in how not to develop a movie. Director Bassam Tariq signed on, then departed. Yann Demange replaced him, then departed too. The 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes wiped out months of momentum. Scripts were rewritten, then rewritten again. Ali’s only on-screen credit in the role ended up being a voice-only post-credits cameo in “Eternals” — and even that took years.
Feige Said It First
Ali’s comments aren’t the first time someone said the quiet part out loud this week. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told the Happy Sad Confused podcast recently that he felt “like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get [Blade] off the ground with Mahershala,” per Deadline. Ali, when asked about Feige’s comments in the GQ interview, was characteristically precise: “Those questions are for them. He said the decision ultimately rested with the studio, suggesting any explanation should come from them.
The GQ interview also revealed something the studio had never confirmed — that Ali’s contract has since expired. He laughed while making the point, but the implication was clear: whatever legal obligation tied him to the role is gone, per ScreenRant.
What Made It Worse
The timing of Ali’s exit lands on an already difficult day for Marvel. Disney+ canceled “Wonder Man” this week, shocking fans who had seen the show renewed for a second season, per ComicBookMovie. Two high-profile creative failures in 48 hours — while “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” breaks opening-weekend records — is an uncomfortable contrast that the studio will have to reckon with.
Ali also said the experience has reoriented what he wants from his career going forward. He told GQ that he’d rather not build a reputation aroun d starring in remade films.The actor explained that he wants to focus on original stories capable of leaving a lasting impression, which made Tariq’s Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother an especially appealing project. one of the Blade directors who also exited, makes the whole thing feel like the two of them finally getting to make the movie they actually wanted to make, per Nerdist.
Wesley Snipes briefly reprised Blade in “Deadpool & Wolverine” last year, and Marvel’s animated “Marvel Zombies” featured a Blade character visually modeled on Ali’s appearance but voiced by Todd Williams. Whether Marvel tries to recast the role for a future project — a “Midnight Sons” team-up has floated as a possibility — remains entirely open. Gizmodo called the whole saga “the most emblematic story of Marvel Studios’ inability to get its house in order post-Endgame.” The Playlist put it more simply: done.
