A recent Disney earnings statement suggests that the troubled production of Blade won’t be making its slated 2025 release date.
Marvel Studios seems to be slowly righting its long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe. It comes after a few years in which its interconnected web of films and TV shows has struggled to impress audiences and make the kinds of profits that had long rendered the rest of Hollywood green with envy.
Deadpool & Wolverine is earning money like there’s no tomorrow and there are several major releases on the horizon, including a new Fantastic Four film, another Spider-Man movie and a couple of Avengers movies. Perhaps the studio might just be scrapping its way back to the apex of the Hollywood mountain and reclaiming a crown that it formerly held for quite a long time.
There is the small matter of Blade though.
The troubled project has become something of an albatross around the studio’s neck, a very public reminder that Marvel’s production process isn’t as slick and confident as it used to be. Two directors have exited the project, while (we think) six writers have now taken a pass at the script. And while this is unconfirmed, we’ve heard some pretty strange claims regarding the direction of some of those drafts.
Read more: X-Men | Marvel schedules reboot shoot for late 2025
It isn’t just the public perception of the project which is causing Marvel headaches either. Those who claim to be in the know about Marvel’s future plans are suggesting that the vampiric daywalker is set to spearhead the new supernatural corner of the MCU and therefore, if they can’t get Blade right, everything that follows is either in a state of limbo or jeopardy, a sizeable issue when all of your films and TV shows are intricately connected.
The film has already been pushed back to a February 2025 release, but considering it currently (as far as we know) has no completed script of director in place, the chances of it making any kind of 2025 bow seem remote. That seems to have been confirmed by Disney boss Bob Iger in an earnings call yesterday. A statement from Iger read “In 2025, our theatrical slate remains just as robust, with Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Zootopia 2, and Avatar 3.”
No mention of Blade, then.
That news comes on the heels of one of those Marvel insider reveals, where Alex Perez claims the film is in a state of limbo. No huge surprise there as it tallies with what we already know. Disney’s statement seems to confirm though, that the company no longer has the confidence to publicly state that Blade will be releasing at any point in 2025. When we do hear of any movement with the film’s production, we’ll let you know.
