Mahershala Ali Places the Blame for ‘Blade’s’ Delay on Marvel’s Shoulders

When Kevin Feige announced that The Inhumans were coming to the MCU, it seemed like another home run idea. They could take a slate of characters unfamiliar to non-comic book fans, build out their universe, and add a whole new team to their roster. They had already struck gold with the Guardians of the Galaxy; why not move forward with a team that could be like the X-Men in space? Hell, Feige even got the comics line to amp up the involvement of the Jack Kirby and Stan Lee creations in the main comics continuity. However, despite all of Marvel’s success (especially at that time), the Inhumans came crashing down to Earth.

You are likely aware that we never got a proper Inhumans movie. What we received were several episodes of a TV show that debuted on IMAX, and if you shelled out IMAX bucks to see that show, Zod bless ya. Not only did the screenings go poorly, but the show it led into landed with a thud. Despite (or maybe because?) the fact that the characters were first introduced in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they were DOA. It was a massive failure in terms of something being announced for the MCU but not followed through on. It could have been its worst, but there’s a certain half-vampire who is now gunning for Black Bolt’s throne.

Mahershala Ali was brought on stage and announced as the MCU’s Blade in 2019. Six years ago! I’ve even lost track of how many times I’ve written about this at this point, because it seems insane that Feige and crew haven’t figured this out yet. It’s getting silly! The movie was never going to be on the level of, say, Sinners, but for the love of all that is holy, that film’s success should be more than enough proof that audiences want to see people of color battling vampires. Coogler allegedly started making it because he saw how Marvel was fumbling with Blade!

It is unknown why the film hasn’t gotten off the ground. What we do know is that Mahershala Ali is not standing in its way; Quite the opposite. The Moonlight star attended the NYC premiere of his new film, Jurassic World Rebirth, and was asked what was taking so long. He did not mince words. “Call Marvel,” he said bluntly. “I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready.” He’s ready, Kevin! Get him a samurai sword, some cool shades, and a duster, and let’s get this thing going!

I don’t think this movie will ever get made, as much as that bums me out. There’s no room for it in the upcoming slate, and I don’t see them keeping it going post Secret Wars, as we could be almost ten years past its initial announcement at that point! Expect Feige to act like it never happened as he tells you about all the fun people he cast as his new X-Men.