We've been waiting a really, really, really long time for this movie but the Marvel Cinematic Universe's upcoming Blade film is on the horizon. Marvel has already set up the movie to be a fresh take on the character that will finally bring the iconic vampire hunter into the MCU fold. The new Blade movie was first announced in July 2019 during San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the film and confirmed that it would star multiple-Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the lead role.

The original Blade trilogy starring Wesley Snipes was massively popular (even if it wasn't always a hit with critics). The movies helped bring Marvel's vampire hero into the daylight and boosted his popularity, at a time when the MCU didn't even look like a remote possibility. It also spawned a short-lived TV series. So needless to say, all eyes are going to be on the new reboot when it comes out and, fingers crossed, it looks like it'll be worth the watch.

It’s still early days with the film and not much is known about the project, but we do have a few key details to share about the upcoming MCU movie. So we’ve put together everything we know about the new Blade movie so far, from the plot and casting details to updates on filming and release dates.

Editor’s Note: This piece was last updated on November 1, 2023.

What Is the New Blade Movie's Title?

There have been some rumors online that the movie will be called Blade, the Vampire Slayer. But this isn't something that has been announced and considering how similar that sounds to Buffy, it seems really unlikely that that's the direction Marvel wants to go in. For the time being, it looks like the movie will just be called Blade like the 1998 Wesley Snipes film.

Who Is Making the MCU Blade Movie?

This is one part of the project that's had a lot of back-and-forths. Marvel first brought Bassam Tariq on board to helm the project. Tariq is perhaps best known for his work on Mogul Mowgli. Unfortunately, the film hit a major snag when Tariq parted ways with the project. Now, after some amount of delay while looking for a new person to take the helm, it has been announced that the movie will be moving forward with Yann Demange ('71, Lovecraft Country) as the director. Tariq remains credited as an executive producer for the movie.

There have also been changes on the writing side of things. Stacy Osei-Kuffour was initially brought on to write the script but Osei-Kuffour was later replaced by Beau DeMayo. That wasn't the end of it, though, as Michael Starrbury now has the job of scripting the reboot. True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto reportedly joined the project, working alongside Starrbury on the film's story. The script issues continued, leading to Mahershala Ali's growing frustration; so Marvel then turned to Logan writer Michael Green to help fix the script.

The film's cinematography is being handled by Damián García with film editing by Leigh Folsom Boyd, casting by Sarah Finn, production design by Stefania Cella, and costume design by Ruth E. Carter, just to name a few of the other crew members involved.

When Is the New Blade Movie's Release Date?

Besides the filming update, Marvel's SDCC 2022 panel also revealed that Blade would arrive in theaters on November 3, 2023, just after Halloween. However after the film lost its director, the film was pushed back nine months to September 6, 2024. The duel WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes prevented all work on the film, especially since the film is still doing more script rewrites. The film is still currently slated for 2024, but we should not be surprised if the film sees another delay.

Who's In the New Blade Movie's Cast?

Mahershala Ali was the first actor confirmed to be in the new Blade movie's cast. Since then, we've had some interesting casting announcements. Award-winning actor Delroy Lindo, who starred alongside the late Chadwick Boseman in the Spike Lee joint Da 5 Bloods, has been cast in the movie in an undisclosed role. Lindo is also known for his work on The Cider House Rules, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Netflix's The Harder They Fall. In another unrevealed role, we have Aaron Pierre also joining the cast. Pierre is best known for his roles in Krypton and The Underground Railroad, as well as the M. Night Shyamalan movie Old. There have also been rumors that The Boys star Antony Starr could play Dracula in the movie but while that definitely sounds like an interesting take on the character, it hasn't been confirmed yet.

The most recent bit of casting news for Blade is the exciting addition of Mia Goth (MaXXXine). Her character remains undisclosed but with Goth's brilliant work in Ti West's X and Pearl, we can't wait to see what the Infinity Pool star will be like as part of the MCU.

Who Are the Confirmed Characters in the New Blade Movie?

Considering how early in the process we currently are, the only character actually confirmed for the movie is Ali's Blade himself. But considering the new movie will have to integrate the character into the MCU, it's possible that some other heroes and villains from the shared universe might show up.

The obvious choices would be Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange or Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. Both Strange and Blade have been part of Marvel's Midnight Sons super-team, which brought together the greatest supernatural heroes of the comic book universe. Could we be getting an MCU Midnight Sons reunion? Maybe, who knows? After the Scarlet Witch's fate in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it would be interesting if the character were to show up in Blade.

Speaking of cameos by other heroes, you know what would be awesome? If Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) were to show up in the new Blade movie. Reynolds was in the third Blade movie, Blade: Trinity, where he played Hannibal King. And you just know that that would be used as a punchline if Wade met Blade.

Wishful thinking aside, we're really just going to have to wait and see what characters are announced for the movie. After all, Blade has had a laundry list of allies, enemies, allies-turned-enemies, and enemies-turned-reluctant-allies in the comics. From Deacon Frost (the vampire who indirectly created Blade) to the legendary Dracula (Blade's archenemy), literally anyone could show up. So stay tuned for updates!

When Is the New Blade Movie Filming?

The new Blade movie was scheduled to start filming in Atlanta in October 2022. This was announced by Kevin Feige during San Diego Comic-Con 2022. However, things have changed on that front and the production is now expected to begin in the Summer of 2023. Filming is expected to take place at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Other locations for the shoot will reportedly include New Orleans, Cleveland, Ohio, and Morocco.

Now, there could still be some shifts in the schedule. Case in point, it was originally reported that the film would start production in late 2021. But according to THR, the date was pushed after Stacy Osei-Kuffour was brought on board so that the studio could spend some time working with her on the script. But that said, unless something really major rocks the boat, it does look like the movie will continue on its current schedule. After Bassam Tariq stepped away from the director's chair, filming was put on hold, as Marvel Studios didn't want to rush into finding a new director. The new filming date was announced months before the latest change in the writing department, so there are chances that further delays could happen.

Are the Previous Blade Movies Available to Stream on Disney+?

Unfortunately, no. While most legacy Marvel shows and movies have been added to Disney+ since the streamer launched, that's not the case with the original Blade trilogy. However, Blade, Blade II, and Blade Trinity are available for rent and purchase on Amazon.

• Rent Blade (1998) on Amazon
• Rent Blade II (2002) on Amazon
• Rent Blade Trinity (2004) on Amazon

How Does the New Blade Movie Fit Into the MCU Timeline?

After the new Blade movie's announcement during SDCC 2019, Kevin Feige confirmed to Collider’s own Steve Weintraub that the upcoming vampire flick would be part of Phase 5, not Phase 4. So that means the movie will likely take place after the multiverse-shaking events of Doctor Strange 2 and the other major changes that are bound to happen in films like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Fantastic Four. That is unless they decide to set Blade sometime in the past. After all, that was the approach Marvel took with Black Widow and Captain Marvel.

Considering how early we are in the production process, it's still possible that the movie could end up releasing as part of Phase 4. If that's the case, it would still be after Doctor Strange 2 but that's pretty much all we can say for sure. There's been no confirmation on this, but we'll probably get some official word on the new Blade's setting and timeline as the film gets closer to production.

Is the New Blade Movie Rated R or PG-13?

Kevin Feige caused a bit of a stir in February 2021 during the Marvel Studios panel at the Television Critics Association when he said that apart from Deadpool 3, Marvel might stick to a PG-13 rating for future movies. His exact words were:

“I think we target everything we’re doing for kids and adults, so I think your question is more adult or R-rated. Other than Deadpool, which has already established itself as a certain genre and a certain rating, that we already said we would not mess with when we started working on Deadpool — which we have — other than that, we haven’t encountered a story or a storyline or a character’s journey that a PG-13, or the tone, or the ratings we’ve been using up to this point has prevented us. We haven’t been held back by. If we ever are, then certainly there can be a discussion that can be had now that there’s other outlets like Star. But that just hasn’t been the case. We’ve told all the stories that we wanted to with the tonality and the rating we have now.”

Now does that mean the new Blade won't have an R rating? Not necessarily. The Wesley Snipes Blade trilogy was R-rated and rightfully so, so a lot of the fans would be disappointed if the reboot didn't match those movies' level of blood and violence. But even if the new movie were to be PG-13, it could still be a worthwhile film, just not one that banks heavily on gore. For the time being, we'll just have to wait and see what the actual rating of the movie will be.

What Is the New Blade Movie's Plot?

As we've already said, very few details about the new Blade movie are known and there hasn't been any news on the plot. With any luck, we'll probably get a synopsis or some details on the movie's story as we get closer to the start of filming. Of course, we do know the character's comic book origin story, which could be the basis for the upcoming film.

Blade's mother was attacked by a vampire when she was pregnant with him. After going into labor, the woman died but gave birth to a unique half-human half-vampire baby who was named Eric Brooks. Once he grew up, Eric took up the name "Blade" and began to use his abilities as a Daywalker to hunt down other vampires.

Considering it's been over twenty years since the first Blade movie came out, the new film could give a recap of this origin story so that new fans can stay in the loop. But it's just as possible that the MCU might skip over the origins and get right into the meat of the story. Another option would be to introduce Blade in an earlier movie and then use his solo film as a way of further exploring the character. This approach worked with Tom Holland's Spider-Man and there's no reason to think it wouldn't work for Blade.

In any case, the reboot isn't going to be too concerned with sticking to the comics canon. At least, that's what former director Bassam Tariq had said. Speaking in an interview with Gizmodo, Tariq had this to say on the topic:

"What’s so great is it’s not as boxed in as I think people imagine it to be, which I thought it was. But it’s quite exciting, and I think the reality is there is no Blade canon. In some comics, his name is Fred H. Blade, you know, instead of Eric Brooks. Unfortunately, the runs never lasted that long, and there have been some interesting and exciting waves. But I can say [the new movie is] character first."