The Oscar winner’s playful dodge of questions about Marvel’s most elusive project speaks volumes about Hollywood’s most infamous production nightmare.
When Jonathan Bailey innocently asked his “Jurassic World Rebirth” co-star Mahershala Ali about their Marvel filmography during a recent Vogue interview, Ali’s response was swift and telling: “Leave me out of it. That’s a Scarlett question.”
The deflection, delivered with characteristic wit alongside Scarlett Johansson, might have seemed like typical celebrity banter. But for those following the tortured development of Marvel’s “Blade” reboot, Ali’s reluctance to engage felt like the latest chapter in one of Hollywood’s most puzzling production sagas.
The Vampire Hunter That Time Forgot
Six years. That’s how long Marvel’s “Blade” has been trapped in development purgatory, longer than it took to plan and execute the entire Infinity Saga’s climax. What began as an exciting 2019 announcement—Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali stepping into Wesley Snipes’ iconic leather coat—has become a masterclass in how even the mighty Marvel machine can stumble.
The project has burned through directors and writers like a vampire exposed to sunlight. Scripts have been scrapped, schedules reshuffled, and promises made only to be quietly abandoned. It’s the kind of production nightmare that would make even the most patient actor question their career choices.
Yet Ali remains surprisingly game. At the New York premiere of “Jurassic World Rebirth,” his message was crystal clear: “Call Marvel. I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready.” It’s a statement that carries both professionalism and perhaps a hint of exasperation—the cinematic equivalent of leaving your dating profile active while your friends keep promising to set you up.
Marvel’s Commitment Issues
Kevin Feige’s recent assurance at D23 Brazil 2024 that Marvel remains “committed” to bringing Blade back feels like a relationship status update nobody asked for. “We love the character. We love Mahershala’s take on him,” Feige insisted, before adding the corporate equivalent of “it’s complicated.”
The Marvel chief’s promise that “the character will indeed make it to the MCU” carries all the weight of a politician’s campaign pledge. Sure, it sounds nice, but we’ve heard this song before. At this point, Blade has been “coming soon” longer than some actual relationships last.
When Life Gives You Unused Costumes…
Perhaps the most telling detail in this whole saga emerged from an unexpected source: Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” The film’s producer, Sev Ohanian, casually revealed that Ruth Carter’s costume designs for the stalled “Blade” production found new life in their period piece. Marvel’s generosity in selling the unused wardrobe “at price” reads like a garage sale for abandoned dreams.
“She happened to have a warehouse full of period-appropriate clothes,” Ohanian explained, painting a picture of costume designs gathering dust while their intended vampire hunter remains sidelined. It’s a poetic image: beautifully crafted clothes waiting for a movie that may never come, like formal wear hanging in the closet of someone who stopped getting invited to parties.
The Waiting Game
Bailey’s cheeky reference to “one that we’re very excited about” during the Vogue interview highlighted the elephant in the room that everyone politely pretends isn’t there. In an industry where even the most troubled productions eventually stumble to completion, “Blade” has achieved a kind of anti-fame—more famous for not existing than most movies are for existing.
Ali’s journey from excited new Marvel recruit to Hollywood’s most patient man deserves some kind of award. His continued readiness to suit up (literally, given those unused costumes) speaks to either admirable professionalism or the kind of optimism that borders on delusion.
The Real Stakes
What makes this saga particularly fascinating isn’t just the production chaos—it’s what it says about Marvel’s current creative struggles. The studio that once turned obscure comic characters into box office gold can’t seem to figure out how to make a movie about a vampire hunter with a sword. If that’s not a metaphor for modern Hollywood’s risk-averse paralysis, nothing is.
Meanwhile, Ali continues his impressive career trajectory with projects like “Jurassic World Rebirth,” proving that life goes on even when your superhero alter ego remains trapped in development hell. His willingness to joke about the situation while maintaining his availability suggests someone who has made peace with the absurdity of it all.
The “Blade” saga has become less about when the movie will arrive and more about what it represents: the gap between ambition and execution, between announcement and achievement. In a world where every comic book character seems to get their moment in the sun, the daywalking vampire hunter remains curiously stuck in the shadows.
Perhaps that’s fitting. After all, Blade was always supposed to be the vampire hunter who operated in the spaces between worlds. He just never expected one of those spaces to be development limbo.
