Back in 2019, basking in the afterglow of Avengers: Endgame‘s record-breaking box office performance, Marvel Studios announced to an excited Hall H crowd that a Blade reboot was in development. Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali was revealed to be the star, immediately establishing Blade as one of Marvel’s most exciting upcoming projects. Unfortunately, all these years later, fans are still waiting for Blade to come to fruition. The film has cycled through multiple directors and writers as Marvel attempts to crack the story. Though Kevin Feige remains hopeful Blade will one day see the light of day, it’s been so long since any positive movement that most fans are convinced the movie is cancelled. The latest rumor suggest that’s the case — but there’s still hope for optimism.
On the latest episode of the podcast The Hot Mic, industry insider Jeff Sneider shared a rumor that “Blade is dead.” Instead, the plan has now shifted to introduce the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Daywalker in a different project. “I’m hearing Blade is dead and it’s a Midnight Sons movie,” Sneider said. “[Blade] will not be introduced in a solo movie. He will be introduced in Midnight Sons.” Again, this is just a rumor for now, so fans should take it with a grain of salt.
A Midnight Sons Movie Might Be What’s Best for the MCU
Especially when one considers there’s already been a trilogy of solo Blade movies starring Wesley Snipes, this latest update about the MCU’s reboot is very disappointing. Since the basic premise was successfully brought to the big screen before, many fans don’t understand why it’s proven to be such a problem this time around. The argument is that it shouldn’t be this difficult to build an exciting action movie around a talented performer like Ali, but Marvel Studios has clearly ran into several hurdles they seemingly can’t clear. It’s frustrating this is the case, but the pivot to Midnight Sons could be what’s best for the franchise.
Throughout Marvel Comics history, a plethora of characters have been members of the Midnight Sons team. Some of these, including Doctor Strange, Wong, and Moon Knight, have already been introduced in the MCU. In addition to serving as a launchpad for Ali’s Blade, a Midnight Sons movie would be an opportunity to continue arcs for characters Marvel fans haven’t seen in years. Moon Knight’s future has been a hot topic of speculation since his miniseries premiered back in 2022. If Marvel doesn’t have plans to make a second season of the show, Moon Knight could return in Midnight Sons, giving Oscar Isaac a chance to further develop a compelling character.
Assuming this rumor is true, the shift from Blade to Midnight Sons could be connected to Marvel’s changing output strategy. In an effort to get the franchise back on track after the unevenness of the Multiverse Saga, Kevin Feige is implementing a slowdown, limiting the number of films and shows Marvel releases on a year to year basis. Fewer projects means fewer opportunities to give certain characters their share of the spotlight, so it’s possible the higher-ups feel it’s better to make a team-up movie instead of a film revolving around a single hero. That way, they can efficiently bring multiple characters to the forefront without oversaturating the marketplace with a bunch of movies and shows.
Marvel has obviously had plenty of success with team-up films before, so Midnight Sons could be the latest in the tradition of The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Part of what makes MCU films so entertaining is watching the characters interact with each other, so it’ll be fun to give Blade some other supernatural superheroes he can play off of. And Midnight Sons could prove to be the best thing to happen to Ali’s troubled MCU tenure. If it’s a well-received box office hit, there would be interest in follow-ups, perhaps putting Blade back on track. Ali is certainly capable of headlining a studio tentpole, so fingers crossed he eventually gets that chance.
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