Disney has removed troubled Marvel movie Blade from its 2025 release schedule.
According to Deadline, Disney will instead launch 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands on November 7, 2025, Blade’s prior release date.
As part of Disney's release calendar update, three untitled Marvel movies have release dates: February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028.
The delay to Blade comes as little surprise given the behind-the-scenes drama it has suffered. In June, news surfaced that director Yann Demange had left the project, which will see Mahershala Ali portray the titular vampire slayer should it eventually get off the ground and into production.
Even original Blade actor Wesley Snipes poked fun at Marvel's reboot following its most recent setback, taking to X/Twitter to throw some shade. "Blade, lordylordylordy folks still lookin for the secret sauce, ridin snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough," Snipes wrote. "Daywalkers make it look easy, don't they?"
Snipes previously played Blade in the original 1998 movie and its two sequels but has been supportive of the reboot in the past. He previously commented on Ali taking the role in the forthcoming film, insisting there was no bad blood over the decision and that he doesn't feel upset about passing the baton to the actor.
Ali is still attached to play Blade, but the road to releasing the reboot has been a rough one. Demange's departure was the second time someone had vacated the director's chair, as Bassam Tariq previously relinquished the role because of a scheduling conflict that came to light before the movie was due to begin shooting.
A report at the time claimed that Ali was frustrated with the movie's progress, which was no doubt further exasperated by production grinding to a halt shortly after. Development on the film started to pick up when Demange came on board, but this pre-production work paused again due to the writers' strike in May 2023.
In June, Mia Goth assured fans that "care" was being taken to "make a great movie." The script aiming to shoot last year reportedly had Goth playing a vampire villain named Lilith who wanted the blood of Blade's daughter, but the movie was due to get a new script this summer.
And in July, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige insisted that the "most important thing is not rushing it" after "two years" of "trying to crack that movie," while teasing an R-rating.
Meanwhile, Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine, which saw Snipes reprise his role as Blade in cameo form, was an enormous hit, making $1.3 billion at the global box office.
In May, Disney boss Bob Iger said Marvel Studios will stick to a somewhat reduced schedule for its Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) projects, with no more than three movies and two shows per year. 2025 already has Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps scheduled for release. 2026 will see the release of Avengers: Doomsday, and 2027 Avengers: Secret Wars. It remains to be seen how Blade fits in.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
