MCU's Blade Release Date, Cast, Director, Writer And More Details

While it's suffered a few critical and commercial blows lately, Marvel Studios has overall found great success since 2008, with massive hits like "Avengers: Endgame" and "Black Panther." Even before Robert Downey Jr. first donned the Iron Man armor, Fox was raking in the dough with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, and Sony was killing it with Tobey Maguire's take on Peter Parker. But once upon a time, Marvel movies were massive bombs. "Howard the Duck," Dolph Lundgren's "Punisher," 1990's "Captain America" — all massive failures.

And then ... the Daywalker arrived.

Although 2000's "X-Men" and 2002's "Spider-Man" are considered the first modern superhero movies, "Blade" predated them both. Based on Marv Wolfman's vampire slayer, the film hit theaters in 1998, resulting in blood-soaked action scenes, an iconic Wesley Snipes performance, and Marvel's first box office hit. The film inspired two further sequels, but the Daywalker (aka Eric Brooks) has been dormant since 2004. Fortunately, the MCU is resurrecting the half-man, half-vampire hero with a new actor in Snipes' shoes. What else do we know about the upcoming action flick? Read on for everything we know so far about the MCU's "Blade."

Will "Blade" ever see the light of day? The movie has been bounced all over the calendar, moving from November 2023 to September 2024 to February 2025. Granted, the reasons for all this upheaval have been pretty legit, ranging from behind-the-scenes shake-ups to the combined forces of major Hollywood strikes. In other words, this movie has been ice skating uphill for a long, long time, so when will we finally see the Daywalker in action?

Well, we've got what's hopefully the final release date for the vampire flick. In November 2023, Marvel reshuffled their release schedule, leaving "Deadpool 3" as the solo 2023 MCU movie. This started a domino effect, with movies getting pushed back one after the other and with "Blade" winding up with a release date of November 7, 2025. Now, will it actually stay on that day? Only time will tell.

In July 2019, Marvel Studios shocked everyone during their Hall H presentation at Comic-Con. As the show was wrapping up, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige brought Mahershala Ali onto the stage and announced he'd be playing everybody's favorite sword-wielding, trench coat-wearing vampire hunter. In fact, the whole thing was Ali's idea. After winning his second Oscar (the first was for "Moonlight," the second was for "Green Book"), Ali wanted to reboot "Blade," so he phoned up Feige, and as the Marvel architect explained to The Hollywood Reporter, "When Mahershala calls, you answer."

So who will be joining Ali in his efforts to rid the world of bloodsuckers? Well, we know that Delroy Lindo of "Da 5 Bloods" fame is joining the film and that Aaron Pierre of "The Underground Railroad" and M. Night Shyamalan's "Old" will also show up. Perhaps the most exciting bit of casting news — aside from Ali's involvement — is that Mia Goth is set to star. A modern-day horror legend, Goth is best known for Ti West's "X" trilogy, where she delivered a jaw-dropping monologue in the second installment ("Pearl"), and she's also appeared in other projects like "Infinity Pool," "High Life," and "Suspiria." According to Hollywood insider Daniel Richtman, it's rumored that Goth will play the big bad guy, Lilith. However, there are two Liliths in the comic — one a vampire and one a sorcerer — so we're not sure which one Goth might be.

Remember how we said behind-the-scenes shakeups led to "Blade" getting delayed? Well, it seems landing a director has proven to be a challenge on this one.

Originally, "Blade" was going to be helmed by Bassam Tariq, best known for directing Riz Ahmed in "Mogul Mowgli." However, in September 2022, it was announced that Tariq was stepping away from the project. As Marvel Studios explained in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, "Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as a director of 'Blade' but will remain an executive producer on the film. We appreciate Bassam's talent and all the work he's done getting 'Blade' to where it is."

After Tariq left, "Blade" was put on hold, and the release date was pushed back as Marvel searched for a new director. Duties eventually fell to Yann Demange, who directed the first episode of "Lovecraft Country," helmed the British thriller "'71," and worked with Matthew McConaughey in "White Boy Rick." Speaking about what's in store for the Marvel movie, Demange told Deadline, "We are going to have fun because Mahershala [Ali] is such a deep actor. I'm excited to show a kind of ruthlessness, a roughness he has, that allows him to walk the earth in a particular way. I love him for that. He's got a dignity and integrity, but there is a ferocity there that he usually keeps under the surface. I want to unleash that and put it on the screen."

Hiring a director hasn't been the only creative issue with "Blade." This movie has had a major problem cracking the screenplay. At various points in time, Stacy Osei-Kuffour (HBO's "Watchmen"), Beau DeMayo ("Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"), Michael Starrbury ("When They See Us"), and Nic Pizzolatto ("True Detective") were all brought in to take a stab at the script. Things evidently got so off the rails that, at one point, there was a script where Blade was the fourth main character in a movie titled "Blade," per Variety.

Evidently, this has been a very frustrating process for Mahershala Ali, with reports saying he almost considered leaving the movie. Realizing they needed serious help, Kevin Feige turned to one of the most successful screenwriters working today: Michael Green. The man earned an Oscar nomination for writing "Logan," one of the all-time superhero films. He penned the critically acclaimed "Blade Runner 2049," wrote the underrated "Alien: Covenant," created the Dwayne Johnson/Emily Blunt adventure film "Jungle Cruise," and has worked on all of Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poirot movies, including the well-reviewed "Haunting in Venice." Plus, he co-created and co-wrote "Blue Eye Samurai" with his wife, Amber Noizumi.

If anyone can right the "Blade" ship, it's Green, and we're incredibly psyched to see what he has in store. Evidently, Mahershala Ali is too. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in December 2023, the actor said he was finally feeling good about the movie's direction. As Ali put it, "I'm 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."

Did you know Blade has already appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? The Daywalker cameoed in "Eternals" — well, his voice did anyway, showing up in a post-credit scene. It happens after Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) discovers the Ebony Sword, a mystical weapon that will turn him into the Black Knight. As he reaches out to pick up the fabled blade, Whitman suddenly hears a voice behind him. "Sure you're ready for that, Mr. Whitman?" Blade asks from off-screen. Then the scene cuts to black.

So, will the two swordsmen be joining up for an MCU adventure? Sadly, it seems unlikely. Speaking at San Antonio's Superhero Comic-Con and Car Show in July 2023, Kit Harington told an audience, "I think there was some misunderstanding about whether [Dane Whitman] was going to be in the 'Blade' movie. He was never meant to be in the 'Blade' movie and isn't." Was this really always the intention? Or was it more of a reaction to "Eternals" bombing hard with critics and audiences? Or did something change during the multiple script rewrites? Regardless, it appears the Black Knight won't be joining Blade in any vampire-slaying adventures.

However, there's always the possibility Blade might team up with someone else. In the Marvel One-Shot "Werewolf by Night," we were introduced to characters from the scarier corners of Marvel Comics, including Gael García Bernal's Jack Russell, Laura Donnelly's Elsa Bloodstone, and Carey Jones' Man-Thing. In the comics, all three of these characters are members of a creepy super group called Midnight Sons – a team that also includes Blade — and it would be pretty awesome if Eric Brooks and Jack Russell could take on a truly terrifying threat together.

Released in 1998, the original "Blade" earned a well-deserved R rating. Wesley Snipes was dropping bodies and F-bombs all throughout the movie, and the film's opening — one of the greatest of all time — kicked off with a wild vampire rave, complete with blood sprinklers.

Will the MCU's "Blade" get that gory? It's possible, as director Yann Demange confirmed the R rating to Deadline. Plus, in November 2022, Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Details are being kept under wraps, but sources say the new intent is for 'Blade' to be dark and gritty in tone, falling on the edgier side of Marvel fare and maybe even find common shading with the fondly-remembered 'Blade' movies made in the early 2000s by New Line."

So this time around, expect something a little more intense than "Quantumania" or "The Marvels."

While you're waiting to see Mahershala Ali's take on the beloved vampire hunter, it might be a good idea to go back and watch the film that started it all — 1998's "Blade." This action-horror pic features plenty of epic showdowns and a ton of memorable one-liners. To watch Marvel's first theatrical success, you can rent it on sites like Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, and YouTube.

The series continues with "Blade II," only this time, renowned auteur Guillermo del Toro is sitting in the director's chair. In this film, Blade is forced to join forces with his bloodsucking enemies to take on an even bigger threat — vampires that want to eat humans and other vampires. Featuring the likes of Ron Perlman, Donnie Yen, and Norman Reedus, "Blade II" is available to rent on sites like Google Play, Prime Video, Vudu, and YouTube.

Then we come to "Blade: Trinity." While the first two "Blade" films are great fun, the third movie features a noticeable drop-off in quality and was reportedly a nightmare to make. (The story goes that Snipes was so difficult during filming that he refused to open his eyes at one point, and the filmmakers had to add CG eyes to his face.) If you want to witness this horror show, you can rent "Blade: Trinity" for on sites like Google Play, Prime Video, Vudu, and YouTube.