For those able to read between the lines, the recently announced decision by Marvel Studios to remove Blade from its 2025 theatrical lineup wasn’t much of a surprise. Production on the film has been delayed multiple times beginning with the decision of original director Bassam Tariq to leave the film in 2022. At least five different writers have taken a turn on the script after original scribe Stacey Osei-Koffour parted ways with the project with Marvel Studios’ vet Eric Pearson (Black Widow, Thunderbolts*) having most recently penned a draft. Without a director since Tariq’s replacement, Yann Demange, bailed in June 2024, there was simply no way Blade was making it in front of cameras this year.
However, further extrapolation of the latest news could also lead one to believe that while Blade was not going to be ready for its November 7, 2025 release date, the studio had not abandoned the project. In fact, the lack of recent movement on any other Marvel Studios films was rather an indicator that Kevin Feige and the Parliament (didn’t they chart in the ’60s?) still hoped to get Blade up and running as soon as possible, potentially with an eye on making it into theaters on February 13, 2026. Now, a new report from a reliable Marvel Studios insider gives some credence to that possibility.
As Marvel Studios focuses on finalizing its 2026 theatrical slate, Daniel RPK has reported that work continues on a new script for Blade with an eye on principal photography getting underway in the UK next year.
Though the new report does not indicate whether Pearson is still on board the project, RPK also reports that the studio is still developing Blade as a dark, R-rated film, although now with a smaller, more reasonable budget than some of its previous projects.
As the studio heads down the home stretch of the Multiverse Saga, tentatively slotting Blade into the first open 2026 release date would leave the powers that be at Marvel with just one more film to pull together and have in theaters on November 6, 2026. Even if Blade continues to face challenges in its development, Marvel could easily vacate the February 13th date and choose to either move it to one of Disney’s four open dates that year or shoot for a November 2026 release and bump whatever unknown project they have slotted in for that date into early 2027, ahead of Avengers: Secret Wars. Whatever the case, it seems as though fans shouldn’t put a stake in the heart of their hopes to see Mahershala Ali‘s Daywalker just yet.
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