Marvel’s Blade Hype Has Been Completely Wasted (Several Times)

Marvel had a tremendous amount of hype surrounding the MCU Blade movie when it was first announced, but the studio has completely wasted that excitement multiple times. The reboot was first announced in dramatic fashion on stage at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige ended his presentation by asking Mahershala Ali to come out. The actor unveiled a cap with the Blade movie logo imprinted on the front. The lights then dropped to show the same logo on the big screen. It was a dramatic reveal, one that was fitting for the popularity of the character.

However, since that event, Marvel has only hurt the energy and excitement surrounding the MCU Blade movie. Three years have now passed with little to show for it other than a disappointing film debut as an off-screen voice. Now, Blade‘s release has been delayed nearly a year, to September 6, 2024. Director Bassam Tariq exited the project over the summer, and without a replacement at the helm, Marvel has put pre-production of the movie on hold. Just as the excitement was building for the scheduled start of filming in November, the studio delivered yet another crushing blow to the movie’s hype.

How Marvel Failed With Blade’s MCU Debut

With the eagerness for the character to make his MCU debut, Marvel attempted to tease Mahershala Ali’s portrayal of the character by including Blade’s voice in an Eternals post-credit scene. However, the tease created more confusion than excitement among viewers. With Blade not appearing on-screen, audiences were unable to identify the voice as being Ali’s and were not sure which character was interacting with Dane Whitman. When the character was confirmed to be Blade by Eternals director Chloé Zhao, viewers were left wondering why Ali’s character was not just shown in his entirety.

Blade’s Production Issues Continues Ruining The Character’s MCU Hype

The handling of the Blade movie production continues to destroy the hype for the character’s inclusion in the MCU. With other supernatural MCU projects like Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night having success before Blade, viewers are left wondering where one of Marvel’s most popular supernatural characters is. The vampire hunter is expected to be a major character in Marvel’s exploration of the supernatural world, but his movie continues to be shelved instead.

With Blade‘s production issues and pushed release date, the excitement from the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con reveal is long gone. Mahershala Ali’s Blade still has yet to make his on-screen debut three years later while the rest of Marvel’s supernatural lore is being built out in full. There now seems to be more anxiety over Blade‘s release than excitement.