"I would.": OG screenwriter of Blade David S. Goyer on his chances of a potential MCU project with Mahershala Ali

It's been over a decade since Marvel Studios took over the rights to Blade, and we still haven't seen a film on the vampire killer developed in the MCU. The only time fans were excited about it was back in 2021 when Mahershala Ali, who is poised to replace Wesley Snipes, appeared in a voice cameo in Eternals as Kit Harrington's Dane Whitman checked that Ebony Blade out.

We don't even have a director for it, but one who was a part of the original trilogy, David S. Goyer, sure is up for the task if needed. He appeared in one interview with ScreenRant recently, where he affirmed this by saying,

"I would. I've always loved the character and I love him, and I've been sitting on the sideline wondering, 'What in the world is going on? Why is it taking so long?' Because I'm a huge Marvel fan myself, and I've just been totally puzzled."

He wrote all three films while also directing the third. However, speaking critically, Blade: Trinity was the worst-performing of the franchise, with the movie currently sitting at just 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. The first two hold 58% and 57% of critics' approval there.

Snipes reprised his role in Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) recently, and, interestingly, Reynolds was a part of Snipes' crew in the third film, where he played the quick-witted Hannibal King.

What's the status on the MCU's Blade?

Wesley Snipes played the character in the original trilogy. (Image via Warner Bros. Entertainment)

The last update on the film came in October 2024, when Deadline confirmed that it's not a part of the MCU's release schedule. Two directors, Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, have already exited the project, and we don't have a clue when the third one will arrive. Though there were rumors that Chad Stahelski was attached to the project, whenever that happens, it should finally begin development.

While there are some work-related delays, the pandemic and the writers' strike have played an important part in this. And then Marvel went full throttle to catch up to the timeline where it should've released certain projects. If you are aware of that quantity-over-quality thing, this is when it began, if you watch the MCU's release slate.

Shelby Weiser, who serves as Mahershala Ali's attorney, once told The Hollywood Reporter that,

"That deal was in 2019, and they still haven’t shot it, which is pretty much the craziest thing in my professional experience."

We aren't sure when Blade will happen, but that's likely now a thing for post-Multiverse Saga.

What are the chances of Mahershala Ali's Blade appearing in the Multiverse Saga?

There's still a chance that Mahershala Ali might appear as the vampire hunter after Wesley Snipes did a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. Though he was adamant on the fact that "there’s only been one Blade, there will only ever be one Blade," it would become true for his universe, and Ali may appear as a variant of the character. That would at least get things going.

For that, we have Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled back-to-back in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Channing Tatum, who also appeared in the Shawn Levy film, is already on the roster that Marvel Studios announced over a several-hour-long update recently.