Mahershala Ali will not be appearing as “Blade” in Marvel movies. He expressed that the long-delayed Blade reboot was not meant to happen even after years in development.
The two-time-Oscar-winner reflected on the stalled superhero flick while promoting his new action drama “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother”.
Mahershala Ali will no longer be starring as Blade
Ali spoke to GQ about the unfortunate stalling of the movie, which never went into production. The project, reportedly, ran into delays and creative differences. “If they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it,” Ali said, adding that he has now “moved on” from the project.
The actor has expressed that he is seeing the stalled project as an opportunity rather than a failure. He connected with director Bassam Tariq, who had been previously attached to the Marvel reboot. This opened up the opportunity to star in Tariq’s next project –“Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother”.He called the new role rewarding, saying that he would have chosen it over the reboot if given the chance again.
“I’d love to do original work that resonates with people,” he explained. “I don’t really want to be known for remakes.”
Ali said that he was ready for the new action drama as he had already trained hard on sword fighting and stunts during the reboot. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has also expressed that the reboot project felt like “a failure”. He mentioned that the project got stalled frequently and a proper script didn’t come together.
Though Ali said he does not bear any ill will towards Marvel, he finds that they should be answerable for why the project never materialized. “The questions are for them,” he said. “They didn’t want to do it.”
“Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” stars Ali as Latif, a devout Muslim hitman whose life changes dramatically after his wife’s death. This forces him to care for his children while also dealing with a serious conflict. Directed by Bassam Tariq, the film marks the pair’s first collaboration since the abandoned Blade project.
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