It seems the highly anticipated Blade movie has finally lost its pulse. The Marvel Cinematic Universe's upcoming film has faced numerous obstacles over the years, but it now appears to have officially stalled, with little hope of resuming production. This means fans won't see Mahershala Ali as the Daywalker, potentially the most significant disappointment in the MCU to date.

Rapper and artist Flying Lotus took to X / Twitter this week to discuss his involvement in the project, revealing that Blade is indeed defunct. "I guess we are so far from it even being a possibility now but. Yeah I was signed on to write music for the new BLADE movie before it fell thru," said the DJ, who recently directed Shudder's sci-fi horror ASH. "Maybe it'll come around again but I doubt it. Would have been fun tho."

The day before Flying Lotus' tweet, costume designer Ruth E. Carter confirmed on The John Campea Show that she was set to design costumes for Blade before production collapsed. She also revealed the film was intended to be set in the 1920s, promising some stunning costume and production design.

Adding to the series of unfortunate events, actor Delroy Lindo, who was also attached to star alongside Ali in Blade, recently discussed the project's downfall with Entertainment Weekly. "When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input," he said. "And in the various conversations I had with producers, the writer, the director at the time, it was all leading into being very inclusive. It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form. And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails."

Blade was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con back in 2019, and if everything had gone according to plan, fans would be eagerly awaiting its release this November. The film has seen several directors come and go, including Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq, but none have stayed on.

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Every Upcoming Movie and TV Show

View 18 Images

Despite the tumultuous journey of this adaptation, it's surprising to think it's been just six months since the movie was removed from Marvel's release schedule in October 2024. There's still no new release date confirmed. However, a month after the film was pulled, MCU boss Kevin Feige reiterated the studio's commitment to Blade during an interview with Omelete in November 2024. "We are committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala's take on him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You're all up to date on what's happening," he said. "But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU."