After years of delays, rewrites, and uncertainty surrounding Marvel Studios’ long troubled Blade reboot, Mahershala Ali has finally addressed the project’s cancellation in his most candid comments yet.
Speaking with GQ while promoting his new film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Ali made it clear that he’s no longer dwelling on the failed Marvel project and has found peace with how everything unfolded.
“If they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it,” Ali told GQ. “So I have to move on, and I have moved on.”
The Oscar winner was first announced as Marvel’s new Blade during San Diego Comic Con in 2019, a reveal that instantly became one of the MCU’s biggest casting announcements. However, after multiple directors departed, several writers took over the screenplay, and the film was repeatedly delayed, Marvel ultimately shelved the project. Earlier this month, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige admitted he felt “like a gigantic loser and a failure” that the film never came together.
Despite the disappointment, Ali says the experience wasn’t a complete loss.
“The best way I can answer this question is, when I look at what is for me, is it was either this or that and I’ll take this. No offense to them,” Ali explained. “I’ve been doing this professionally for pushing 30 years now, and one thing I’ve learned is that what is for you is for you and what is not is not.”
Mahershala Ali Blade Concept
Instead of starring as Marvel’s vampire hunter, Ali reunited with former Blade director Bassam Tariq to create the original action drama Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. The actor believes the film ultimately became a more rewarding creative experience than the Marvel reboot could have been.
“When I look at this and Blade, I couldn’t have done both,” Ali said. “The reason this even exists is because that project fell apart… I was able to use those skills that I had been working on for over a year training for Blade. In that way, I feel creatively redeemed on some level.”
Ali also acknowledged that the first teaser for the new film intentionally included him wielding a sword, something many fans viewed as a nod to the character they never got to see him play.
“I’m glad we were able to satisfy that and kind of move on,” he said, adding that while audiences may have expected a big budget superhero spectacle, the smaller scale project allowed them to tell a much deeper and more personal story.
Mahershala Ali and Kevin Fiege [getty]
As for whether fans should continue asking him about Marvel’s canceled reboot, Ali made his position perfectly clear.
“I’m good,” he said with a laugh. “Again, you had me under contract, they have billions of dollars, if they wanted to do the movie, we would’ve done the movie. So we’re not doing the movie… I feel ready to move on from the Blade questions. Those questions are for them. They didn’t want to do it, so they should answer that question.”
For many Marvel fans, Ali’s comments offer long awaited closure on one of the MCU’s most infamous canceled projects. While his version of Blade never made it to the big screen, the actor has made it clear he’s looking ahead, not back.
