The Marvel India Twitter account caused Blade to start trending earlier today when they tweeted and deleted an image that showed the new reboot starring Mahershala Ali with a release date of October 7, 2022.
The film is set to be written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour and directed by Mowgli’s Bassim Tariq (although this is unconfirmed). It is likely that this is an old release date that has since been pushed back due to the pre-production schedule understandably slowing down. Filming is set to begin in July of next year (pushed back from September 2021), making October 7 nigh-on impossible as a release date, although it could just make the wire and still be released within 2022.
Never fear, however, because the Marvel Phase Four schedule is still packed, with Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness set for March, Thor: Love and Thunder set for May, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever set for July, and The Marvels set for November – all of next year. If Blade makes it to a 2022 release, then this will record five MCU movies within a year. Despite the global pandemic, Marvel has managed to stick to a schedule of a record four films in 2021 – Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as the upcoming Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Blade is a character who debuted in 1973 and went on to be played by Wesley Snipes in three movies between 1998-2004, with the now Oscar-winning Guillermo del Toro directing Blade II. The names of several different writers and directors were rumoured in attachment to the new reboot, after the two-time Oscar-winning Mahershala Ali was a surprise reveal as Blade by Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con, way back in July 2019.
While Blade-related news is thin on the ground (which explains why this blooper by Marvel India caused such a stir), we can possibly expect some casting news at the 2021 Disney Investor Day or even a confirmed release date. While we can hope for a 2022 release for the vampire-hunting superhero, October 2023 is looking far more likely…