Four Scripts and Counting: Kevin Feige Explains Blade's Long Development Hell

Mahershala Ali in Alita: Battle Angel

Mahershala Ali in Alita: Battle Angel

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has finally addressed the long-gestating development of the MCU reboot of Blade starring Mahershala Ali.

Back in 2019, Feige announced to the San Diego Comic-Con crowd that they were working on a new Blade movie with Ali taking on the role. However, to this day, the project remains stuck in development, and multiple directors and writers have been let go. Fans are wondering whether the film is still part of the MCU's slate in the future.

Why is the Blade MCU Reboot Still Stuck in Development?

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According to Variety, Feige confirmed in a conversation with reports that they are still working on Blade and Ali is still attached to star in the project.

He also admitted that the delay was a symptom of the MCU's "over-expansion" and their strategy in the Multiverse Saga, where "quantity trumped quality." As a result, they were unable to get the right script for their take on the iconic character.

"We didn’t want to simply just put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires. It had to be unique. It fell into the time when we started pulling back and saying, ‘Only accept insanely great.’ And it wasn’t ‘insanely great’ at the time," Feige said.

"We didn’t feel like, as we often do, you can have a good script and make it a great script through production. We didn’t feel confident that we could do that on Blade, and we didn’t want to do that to Mahershala and didn’t want to do that to us."

While Marvel Studios remains committed to Blade, whether it will be part of the Multiverse Saga remains to be seen.

What to Expect in Blade MCU Reboot?

As Feige mentioned, Ali is still attached to play the titular vampire hunter. However, there is no new director attached to the project after Yann Demange left.

Fans have been clamoring for Ryan Coogler to take over the film, but Feige has shot down the possibility as Coogler is currently working on Black Panther 3.

MCU veteran Eric Pearson is the current writer attached to the project. The previous iterations were period settings, but Feige has confirmed that the film will now be set in the modern day.

"We’ve landed on modern day. Which is why we could give those costumes back to [original costume designer] Ruth [Carter], and that’s what we’re focusing on," he said.

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