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'Have moved on': Mahershala Ali not doing Marvel's 'Blade'
01 Aug 2026

Mahershala Ali, the two-time Oscar-winning actor, has confirmed he will not be starring in Marvel's long-awaited reboot of Blade.

In a recent interview with GQ, Ali hinted that this decision was not his own and suggested that Marvel could have done more to make it happen.

"For whatever reason, that project is not for me," he said. "If they wanted to do it, we would've done it."

Ali ready to move on from 'Blade' questions
Moving forward

Ali further added, "So I have to move on, and I have moved on. Again, you had me under contract; they have billions of dollars, if they wanted to do the movie, we would've done the movie."

"So we're not doing the movie... But I feel ready to move on from the Blade questions. Those questions are for them. They didn't want to do it, so they should answer that question."

Marvel head Kevin Feige expressed disappointment over 'Blade' delay
Executive's regret

Ali's comments came after Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige expressed his disappointment over the delay in the project.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he said, "I am feeling like a gigantic loser...that we didn't get off the ground with Mahershala."

Director Bassam Tariq, who was initially set to direct the film before he left due to creative differences, told GQ, "The first time he was doing sword practice on Blade, the stuff coming back was incredible."

'Blade' reboot has faced several challenges
Production challenges

The Blade reboot, which was originally announced in 2019 with Ali as the lead, has faced several challenges.

After Tariq's departure, Lovecraft Country director Yann Demange took over but eventually exited the project.

Despite these setbacks, Ali's Blade made a voice cameo in a post-credits scene for Eternals (2021).

Ali has moved on to a new project
New project

Ali has now moved on to a new project.

He and Tariq have reunited for an upcoming Amazon MGM Studios action film titled Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.

The film is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and follows a devoutly religious hitman (Ali) on a desperate journey across Houston after his wife's death.