Mahershala Ali exits Marvel's Blade reboot

Marvel Studios announced a Blade reboot at San Diego Comic‑Con in 2019, naming Oscar‑winner Mahershala Ali as the new daywalker. The project suffered repeated delays, director changes and strikes, and ultimately stalled. In a recent GQ interview, Ali confirmed he is leaving the film, stating that Marvel had him under contract and billions of dollars to fund it, but “if they wanted to do the movie, we would’ve done the movie.” He said the project was not right for him and he will focus on his new film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, directed by Bassam Tariq, with whom he previously collaborated on the aborted Blade effort. Marvel chief Kevin Feige also expressed disappointment, calling himself a “failure” for not delivering the reboot. The Blade reboot is now effectively cancelled, and the character’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains uncertain.