Kevin Feige on Marvel's Failed Blade Reboot: 'I Feel Like a Gigantic Loser and Failure'

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige expressed deep disappointment over the stalled Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali. He made the remarks on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, according to Variety.

"I am feeling like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala," Feige said bluntly. He noted it was still "very exciting" to have Wesley Snipes return as the character in 2024's "Deadpool and Wolverine."

What happened to the Blade reboot?

The project was first announced in July 2019. Bassam Tariq was hired as director but exited in September 2022, just months before filming was set to begin. Yann Demange later stepped in but also left the project by June 2024.

"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 said.

Why didn't Marvel move forward?

According to Feige, the script did not meet the studio's new, higher standard. "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," he explained. Marvel did not feel confident it could improve the script during production and did not want to proceed under those conditions.

Variety reported in November 2023 that the film had gone through at least five writers, with one version reportedly morphing into a narrative led by women. Throughout the development struggles, Ali has remained committed, telling Variety last summer, "I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready."