Mahershala Ali slams Disney/Marvel over canceled Blade reboot

Mahershala Ali, an Oscar-winning actor, publicly expressed frustration that Disney-owned Marvel abandoned the Blade reboot he was attached to since 2019. He noted that, given his contract and the studio's financial power, the film would have been made if the company had wanted to move forward. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige later said the screenplay failed to reach the "insanely great" threshold they require, and they preferred not to produce a subpar movie or tarnish Ali's image.

Ali added that the project's collapse allowed him to focus on his new action film, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, under director Bassam Tariq. The cancellation coincides with a series of Marvel projects starring actors of color being dropped, prompting accusations of systemic bias among fans. Feige continues to announce other upcoming Marvel titles, including a Ghost Rider starring Ryan Gosling and a Black Panther sequel with David Jonsson.