Mahershala Ali has opened up about how preparation to play Blade took a physical toll after Marvel repeatedly delayed the reboot film. The MCU actor spent months training for the title role and even suffered a knee injury in the process.
Speaking with GQ, Ali revealed that he spent a year preparing to play the role and injured his knee during training. “I spent a year training. I trained so hard I blew my knee out,” Ali said.
The actor explained that he continued training as Marvel pushed the project back. “I was just waiting for them. [They were] pushing it back, pushing it back, pushing. I’m still training. I’m learning sword work. Name the martial art, I’m training in it,” the 52-year-old said.
Mahershala Ali’s Blade journey faced more setbacks beyond his training injury
The Oscar-winning actor also moved his family to Atlanta while waiting for production to begin. However, the repeated delays only made things harder before eventually moving on.
“And I literally moved, uprooted my family, moved to Atlanta. We are there waiting to go. And they just keep pushing it back, pushing it back, pushing it. It doesn’t happen. And then it’s a strike,” Ali said.
Ali was attached to star as Blade since Marvel announced the project at 2019 SDCC. Before the official cast, the actor expressed interest in the role and even pitched the idea of a reboot personally to Kevin Feige. Bassam Tariq was initially hired to direct but left the project in 2022.
The development underwent multiple changes behind the scenes, with director departures, script rewrites, and continuous delays.
In an interview, Kevin Feige publicly addressed the film’s prolonged stall. “I am feeling like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”
After Mahershala said that he moved away from the project, there are no official updates. For now, the Blade movie appears to have been shelved indefinitely.
