ENTERTAINMENTKevin Feige Calls Himself a 'Gigantic Loser' Over Mahershala Ali's Scrapped 'Blade' Reboot
Kevin Feige admitted he was disappointed 'Blade' with Mahershala Ali never happened.
July 20 2026, Published 3:49 p.m. ET
Kevin Feige opened up about one of Marvel Studios' biggest unfinished projects.
Speaking on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Feige reflected on the long-delayed Blade reboot and admitted he was disappointed that the film starring Mahershala Ali never moved forward.
"I am feeling like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala," he said.
While discussing the project, Feige also noted that seeing Wesley Snipes return as Blade in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine was "very exciting," even as Marvel's planned reboot ultimately failed to reach production.
Marvel's 'Blade' Faced Years of Development Problems
Kevin Feige reflected on how Mahershala Ali's 'Blade' reboot underwent years of creative setbacks.
Marvel first announced its Blade reboot starring Ali during San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019.
The project, however, encountered repeated setbacks behind the scenes. Bassam Tariq signed on as the film's first director but exited the movie in September 2022, just two months before production was expected to begin.
The screenplay also changed hands several times. Writers attached to the project included Watchmen writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour and Michael Starrbury. After Tariq's departure, Yann Demange joined as director but later left the film in June 2024.
Kevin Feige's Marvel Studios removed 'Blade' from its theatrical schedule after years of development challenges.
According to Variety, the project had gone through at least five writers by November 2023.
A source familiar with the development told the outlet that one version of the script became a female-led story focused on life lessons. At the time, Marvel was reportedly still aiming to keep the budget under $100 million.
Those plans, however, never materialized. Marvel Studios officially removed Blade from its fall 2024 theatrical release calendar.
Despite the delays, Ali consistently expressed his desire to play the iconic vampire hunter. While promoting Jurassic World Rebirth last summer, the Oscar winner told Variety, "I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready."
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Kevin Feige Said Marvel Chose Quality Over Rushing the Film
Kevin Feige said Marvel slowed work on 'Blade' after the studio shifted its focus from quantity to quality.
During a July 2025 press event, Feige explained that Blade became one of several projects affected after Marvel reassessed its production strategy.
He said the studio's rapid expansion into Disney+ programming created a period when "quantity trumped quality" for the first time. As Marvel reviewed its slate, several projects slowed down, including Blade.
Kevin Feige said Marvel decided against making 'Blade' until the creative team believed it was ready.
Feige said the creative team never wanted to make a standard superhero movie.
"We didn’t want to simply just put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires. It had to be unique," he explained.
The 53-year-old further said, "It fell into the time when we started pulling back and saying, ‘Only accept insanely great.’ And it wasn’t ‘insanely great’ at the time. We didn’t feel like, as we often do, you can have a good script and make it a great script through production."
"We didn’t feel confident that we could do that on ‘Blade,’ and we didn’t want to do that to Mahershala and didn’t want to do that to us," Feige concluded.
