Marvel's Blade Faces Another Setback, Taken Off From Disney's 2025 Release Calendar

In a major reshuffle, Disney has removed Blade from its 2025 release slate, further lining up three untitled releases for 2028. Starring Mahershala Ali as the titular half-vampire, the film was originally set for its release on November 7, 2025, which has now gone to 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands, states a Variety report. The decision to put off Blade’s release date came on the heels of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s announcement that Marvel will bring out a “maximum of three” films in a year.

Out of the four projects that were slated for 2025, including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the Mahershala Ali starrer, Blade was the only project that is yet to go on the floors.

The upcoming Blade film was originally set for a release in November 2023, which jumped to September 2024 after the departure of the first director, Bassam Tariq, in 2022. Demange stepped in, however, the 2023 Hollywood strikes suspended the pre-production and pushed the film to November 2025. Amid the delays in shooting, director Yann Demange also exited from the production in June this year, leading to another setback.

Despite the number of snags, the makers seem intent on moving on with the film. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige also gave his assurance. “For the last few years, as we’ve been trying to crack that movie, the most important thing for us is not rushing it, and making sure we are making the right Blade movie. Because there were some great Blade movies years ago.,” he told Black Tree TV in July this year.

Upcoming Marvel Releases

In its movie release calendar, Disney has added three Marvel films for 2028 on February 18, May 5, and November 10. However, the titles are yet to be unveiled. On the other hand, the current Marvel Studios slate includes films from Phase 5—Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts. Others in Phase 6 include The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the Russo Brothers-directed Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

A series of Marvel films without a release date has also been announced, including the likes of Armor Wars, Shang-Chi 2 and the X-Men reboot.