Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has openly expressed regret over the collapse of the studio's long-delayed "Blade" reboot, which was meant to star Mahershala Ali as the vampire hunter. Speaking on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Feige admitted, "I am feeling like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn't get off the ground with Mahershala," despite calling it "very exciting" to have seen Wesley Snipes briefly reprise the role in 2024's "Deadpool and Wolverine." The comments underline just how badly one of Marvel's most anticipated projects derailed after years in development limbo.

The film was first announced with Ali attached in July 2019, but suffered repeated setbacks: director Bassam Tariq exited in September 2022 shortly before shooting was due to start, successor Yann Demange later dropped out in June 2024, and the script passed through at least five writers, including Stacy Osei-Kuffour and Michael Starrbury. Marvel formally pulled "Blade" from its release schedule in autumn 2024. Feige has previously attributed the delays to Marvel's broader "over-expansion" into Disney+ content, saying the studio pulled back to demand "insanely great" scripts rather than push forward with something merely good, while Ali has repeatedly insisted he remains ready to play the character.