Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot continues to face hurdles, and now fans know that even the character’s animated debut didn’t include Mahershala Ali. The Oscar-winning actor, who’s long been attached to the role of the Daywalker, was notably absent from his character’s first Marvel Studios appearance.
The Blade project has had a difficult road since its announcement in 2019. Initially set to release in 2024, the film has endured multiple rewrites, creative shakeups, and directorial departures. Yann Demange, who stepped in after Bassam Tariq’s exit, also left the production last year. Writers Michael Green, Nic Pizzolatto, and Stacy Osei-Kaffeur have all contributed to the script, while Mia Goth remains attached to co-star.
“For the last few years, we’ve been trying to crack that movie,” Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Black Tree TV last year. “I think the most important thing for us is not rushing it and making sure that we’re making the right Blade movie because there were some great Blade movies years ago.”
In late 2024, Disney officially removed Blade from its release schedule, confirming that the Mahershala Ali–led project was no longer slated for its planned November 2025 debut. According to Deadline, “In what comes as no surprise, Marvel Studios’ Blade won’t be coming out on November 7, 2025; rather, Disney is opening 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands.”
Predator: Badlands (2025) will act as a follow-up to 2022’s acclaimed Prey, with Dan Trachtenberg returning to direct and Elle Fanning taking the lead role. The reshuffling underscores Disney’s wider strategy under CEO Bob Iger, who has limited Marvel’s yearly output to three films and two Disney+ series to refocus on quality.
While Ali’s live-action debut is on pause, the Marvel Zombies animated series has already given fans a different kind of Blade. The four-episode series introduced a Multiversal version of the vampire hunter, voiced by Invincible actor Todd Williams, who portrays the “Blade Knight.”
“Surprisingly, this might also act as the debut for Blade in the Marvel film line, with actor Todd Williams taking on a very different interpretation of the Day Walker,” Comic Book reported.
However, Mahershala Ali’s absence from Marvel Zombies sparked some curiosity. Why didn’t the actor lend his voice to the role? Executives Bryan Andrews and Brad Winderbaum explained the decision in a recent interview.
“In an interview with POC Culture, the pair of Marvel executives addressed why Ali did not appear as Blade in the recently released Marvel Zombies. The most significant factor, they said, was ‘timing,'” The Direct reported.
“‘It was really a timing issue more than anything else,’ Winderbaum, Marvel’s Head of Streaming, Television and Animation, remarked. Andrews, one of the show’s creators, added they ‘would have loved’ to have had Ali on the project,” the outlet continued.
Premiering September 24, 2025, on Disney+, Marvel Zombies marked Marvel’s first TV-MA-rated animated project. Directed by Bryan Andrews and developed by Zeb Wells, the miniseries continues the story from What If…? and features a cast including Iman Vellani (Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch).
Feige has since reassured fans that Mahershala Ali remains firmly committed to the Blade reboot. Multiple versions of the script have been written, and the studio has settled on a modern-day setting. With Marvel’s release slate extending through 2028, there’s still room for the Daywalker to make his long-awaited MCU debut–it just might take a little longer.
How do you feel about the long wait for Blade in the MCU? Let us know in the comments down below!
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