Regardless of quite a few false begins, Mahershala Ali’s debut as a vampire slayer in “Blade” remains to be within the works, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige confirmed.

“Mahershala remains to be hooked up,” Feige informed a roomful of journalists gathered at Marvel Studios on Friday in regards to the venture, which might see the two-time Oscar winner assume the position originated onscreen by Wesley Snipes, who performed the half within the late ’90s and 2000s, in addition to in 2024’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.” “The impediment was, Ryan Coogler known as and stated, ‘We’d love some costumes for ‘Sinners,’” he joked, referring to costumes created by Ruth E. Carter for an deserted “Blade” movie that Marvel commissioned, then bought again to Carter for Coogler’s vampire film. “And we stated, ‘Take ‘em man, no downside’ — he’s a very good good friend — ‘Take our costumes. We’ll maintain off on the film.’”

In all seriousness, Feige defined, the extended delays on “Blade” had been a symptom of Marvel’s “over-expansion” — how the chief characterizes the studio’s response to Disney’s mandate to supply extra content material on the onset of the Disney+ streaming service. Feige hesitated to make use of a “dramatic” time period like “fallout” to characterize the ensuing scenario, however “for the very first time ever, amount trumped high quality,” he stated, echoing related feedback made lately by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

“We had spent 12 years engaged on the Infinity Saga, saying, ‘That’s by no means going to occur to us.’” Feige stated. “We at all times had extra characters that folks had been asking about than we may presumably make, as a result of we weren’t going to make a film a month — that’s loopy. Instantly there’s a mandate to make extra, and we go, ‘Nicely, we do have extra’ … However perhaps that’s what we fell into.”

So, as Marvel started to reevaluate its improvement course of, the “Blade” film — which was introduced in 2019 and initially supposed to hit theaters in November 2023 — was one of many tasks that stalled.

“We didn’t wish to merely simply put a leather-based outfit on him and have him begin killing vampires. It needed to be distinctive,” Feige defined. “It fell into the time after we began pulling again and saying, ‘Solely settle for insanely nice.’ And it wasn’t ‘insanely nice’ on the time.”

He continued: “We didn’t really feel like, as we frequently do, you may have a very good script and make it an incredible script by means of manufacturing. We didn’t really feel assured that we may do this on ‘Blade,’ and we didn’t wish to do this to Mahershala and didn’t wish to do this to us.”

“Blade” was initially set to start taking pictures in 2022, however director Bassam Tariq (“Mogul Mowgli”) exited the venture in September, roughly two months earlier than cameras had been imagined to roll. Yann Demange (“White Boy Rick”) then signed on to direct, solely to exit the movie in June 2024. There may be at present no director hooked up. Ali insists he’s nonetheless recreation.

“Name Marvel,” Ali informed Selection final month on the New York premiere of his new movie “Jurassic World Rebirth.” When requested when “Blade” manufacturing may begin, he replied: “I’m prepared. Allow them to know I’m prepared.”

A number of screenwriters have additionally been introduced by means of the years, from “Watchmen” scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour to Michael Starrbury. Feige informed Selection there have been “three or 4” iterations of the “Blade” story, two of which had been interval items. “We’ve landed on modern-day,” Feige confirmed. “Which is why we may give these costumes again to Ruth, and that’s what we’re specializing in.”

Talking of “Sinners,” regardless of the web’s want to see it, Feige stated Coogler just isn’t within the operating to helm the image (and appeared stunned that anybody was pushing for that to occur). The filmmaker has “Black Panther 3” to concentrate on, which Feige confirmed is in progress, although no date has been revealed. “We all know [when on the timeline it is], and if he’s telling you he doesn’t, that’s excellent,” Feige stated with a understanding smile.

So, in spite of everything this, does Feige remorse saying the venture throughout Marvel Studios’ Corridor H presentation at San Diego Comedian-Con in 2019?

“Solely in hindsight, I do,” Feige stated. “However I don’t. As a result of that’s the best way we’d introduced every little thing earlier than, like that and had not not delivered.”

Feige then pointed to the “great quantity of curveballs” the studio confronted between 2019 and in the present day; there have been the hurdles that affected the whole trade, just like the COVID-19 pandemic and strike delays, in addition to Marvel-specific tribulations, like “buddies and stars dying; and storylines shifting folks as a result of folks didn’t reply to them the best way we wished to; after which, with Kang, actors [Jonathan Majors] falling out of our capacity to make use of them.”