Kevin Feige Gives a Positive Update on the Long-Languishing ‘Blade’
Since Marvel Studios announced its plans for a Blade reboot in 2019, production on the film has been an abject disaster.
When the film was initially revealed, Marvel was coming off the high of Avengers: Endgame, and it seemed like Kevin Feige and his team could do no wrong. Additionally, the studio signed Mahershala Ali to play the fan-favorite Daywalker, a seemingly perfect fit for the character.
Over the last six years, however, the development of Blade has gone off the rails. Over the last five years, the film has been delayed three times, undergone six different screenwriters, and is currently seeking its third director.
When the film was removed from Marvel’s release calendar, many wondered if Blade would ever come to fruition. The last time we checked in, Ali made comments that didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Now, however, for the first time in years, Kevin Feige has provided an update on the project.
Kevin Feige Provides a ‘Blade’ Update
During a recent press conference discussing the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Feige discussed the troubled production of Blade.
Dissecting Blade’s numerous delays, Feige attributed them to Marvel being overextended.
Source: Jessie Grant/ Disney/ Getty Images
“We had spent 12 years working on the Infinity Saga, saying, ‘That’s never going to happen to us.’” Feige said. “We always had more characters that people were asking about than we could possibly make, because we weren’t going to make a movie a month — that’s crazy. Suddenly there’s a mandate to make more, and we go, ‘Well, we do have more’ … But maybe that’s what we fell into.”
Previous Versions of ‘Blade’ Did Not Meet Marvel’s Expectations
When viewed through the new lens of quality over quantity, Feige said Blade did not meet expectations.
“We didn’t want to simply just put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires. It had to be unique,” Feige explained. “It fell into the time when we started pulling back and saying, ‘Only accept insanely great.’ And it wasn’t ‘insanely great’ at the time.”
Photo: Maarten de Boer for Variety
“We didn’t feel like, as we often do, you can have a good script and make it a great script through production. We didn’t feel confident that we could do that on ‘Blade,’ and we didn’t want to do that to Mahershala and didn’t want to do that to u,” he continued.
The Current State of the Film
As for the current status of the film, Feige said production is still underway. The latest iteration of Blade will be set in modern times.
“We’ve landed on modern day,” Feige confirmed. “Which is why we could give those costumes back to Ruth, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
Source: Jesse Grant/ Getty Images
So, looking back, does Feige have any regrets?
“Only in hindsight, I do,” he said. “But I don’t. Because that’s the way we’d announced everything before, like that and had not not delivered.”
By the sound of things, Blade is not particularly far along in development; nevertheless, Marvel remains dedicated to the project, and the film still has its star.
Photo: Sebastian Nevols / The Guardian
“Mahershala is still attached,” Feige said.
