Mahershala Ali's Blade movie gets a major update at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Three years ago, Marvel Studios announced at SDCC 2019 that Ali would be playing the character previously brought to live-action by Wesley Snipes. Little else has been revealed about the movie since, which is partly due to the fact that the pandemic may have stalled development on the film. Due to this, updates on Blade have been few and far between.
Technically, Ali made his debut offscreen in 2021's Eternals, asking Kit Harington's Dane Whitman if he's ready for the Ebony Blade. Heard only by voice, it was still an exciting set up for fans who are anticipating Ali's MCU debut and an exploration of the darker supernatural side of the Marvel world. Since then, Blade has found its director in Bassam Tariq, a writer in Watchmen scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour, and added several cast members, including Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre.
Now, at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel has revealed that Blade will hit theaters next year, on November 3. Unfortunately, nothing else has been revealed about the film.
Marvel Studios' massive SDCC 2022 presentation left little room for in-depth updates, choosing instead to focus on the bigger picture. This gave audiences an idea of what both Phase 5 and Phase 6 of the MCU will look like. Still, how Blade himself factors into that remains unclear. Fortunately, updates could be right around the corner. With D23 in September, Marvel could use that to present in-depth details about Blade and, considering the timeline, pretty much everything should be locked into place. With a November 2023 release, Blade should begin filming in the coming months, meaning the cast should be locked in. It's even possible that Marvel could offer a first look at Ali in costume as Blade if screen tests have been done for the character.
What the cast could look like, though, is unclear, but it will be interesting to see if Harington returns as Dane Whitman. It would make sense considering Eternals' post-credit stinger and it would be a treat to see Ali and the Game of Thrones actor onscreen together, paving the way for a new branch of the MCU. The supernatural side has already been explored in shows like Moon Knight, so it's possible that Blade serves as an expansion of that branch as Marvel barrels through the Multiverse Saga. Only time will tell, but it seems like more will be revealed sooner rather than later
