Marvel spent five years not making Blade with Mahershala Ali, then helped pay for the film he made instead
Mahershala Ali told Deadline at TIFF 2026 the Blade update you were dreading — and why he’s still grateful to Marvel for helping another film.
Mahershala Ali has finally closed the chapter on Blade, but rather than going out with a rant, he had some surprisingly positive words for Marvel Studios—and, frankly, the whole thing's turned out far weirder than anyone predicted when Ali put that baseball cap on at Comic-Con all those years ago. Let's break down how a two-time Oscar winner ended up thankful to Marvel, even as the wheels came right off one of the messiest superhero reboots in recent memory.
Marvel Money, New Movie
Speaking to Deadline at TIFF 2026, Ali made it official: he's done with Blade for good. But here's the kicker—Marvel actually played a part in funding his latest film, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, an Amazon MGM thriller directed by Bassam Tariq (yes, the same director who almost made Blade). After years of Marvel limbo, it turns out the studio helped the project get over the line financially. Not the gratitude anyone expected, to be honest, but Ali says their contribution genuinely mattered to the production.
Ali told Deadline at TIFF: "I got to go train for a year, so at this point, I'm so grateful that they made a wonderful contribution to our film."
He also mentioned the extended Blade prep wasn’t entirely wasted. A year of stunt training for a role that never happened paid off when it came time for the action scenes in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Silver linings, eh?
The Blade Debacle, Start to Finish
Ali’s Blade journey began all the way back at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, when Marvel first revealed him as the new half-vampire hero. After that, it was a carousel of writers, directors and scripts. The film’s release date bounced around four different years before Marvel finally gave up and cancelled it altogether.
Asked directly if he'd ever return as Blade, Ali answered: "I'm done. I'm doing this and anything moving forward. I'm over that. I'm done with that."
That means no more speculation about Ali starring in Midnight Sons or Secret Wars—he's made it clear there's zero chance of him picking up the sword now. As it stands, the closest he ever got was a voice cameo as Blade in the end credits of Eternals. After all that, Wesley Snipes showed up as the original Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine instead, and Todd Williams lent his voice to a Blade variant (using Ali's likeness, ironically enough) in Marvel Zombies. Make of that what you will.
Marvel’s Blade relaunch was scrapped after four separate release date changes.
It’s an ending nobody wanted, but at least Ali’s used the experience to boost his own films—and managed to wring some appreciation out of it in the end.