Why Mahershala Ali didn’t voice Blade in Marvel Zombies

Mahershala Ali was cast as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Blade in 2019, but it looks like his first solo film is destined to languish in development hell. Marvel pulled “Blade” from its originally planned 2025 release date last year, sparking further speculation that the horror action film will never happen. What’s more, Ali is one of seven MCU actors who were replaced in “Marvel Zombies,” with Todd Williams voicing the daytime vampire, lending further weight to fears that his time as Blade is already over. So why wasn’t Ali cast as the vampire in the animated series?

The answer is simple: He wasn’t available, even though the show’s creators apparently wanted him on board. In an interview with POC cultureMarvel Streaming chief Brad Winterbaum revealed that he was more than interested in having Ali be a part of the series, but it simply wasn’t possible when production on “Marvel Zombies” began. As he himself put it:

“I mean, yeah, I think it was like a moment, it was really a matter of timing more than anything else.”

For now, Marvel fans will have to make do with Ali’s sneaky voice cameo as Blade in “Eternals,” which was released in 2021. The good news, however, is that the actor could still don the trench coat and fangs at a later date… even if the delay has left some people skeptical.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed that Mahershala Ali is still on board to play Blade in 2025, so fans can rest assured that he hasn’t walked away from the project. Be that as it may, what’s the problem with the robbery? As documented by VarietyFeige explained that “Blade” was announced at a time when Marvel Studios was focused on producing more projects due to high demand, leading to a decline in quality across the board. As such, the studio will only make “Blade” when it has a story idea that lives up to everyone’s high expectations. By Feige:

“We didn’t want to just put him in a leather suit and have him start killing vampires. It had to be unique. It got to the point where we started backing off and saying, ‘Just embrace the incredibly cool.’ And it wasn’t ‘incredibly cool’ at that point.”

Feige summed up by saying that previous incarnations of the “Blade” script weren’t great and that no one involved in the project wants to make a movie that settles for less. The delay is certainly frustrating, but no one can blame Feige and company. for wanting to do something really fantastic, right? As of this writing, no potential release dates for “Blade” have been announced, but the project is far from dead: It’s simply ice skating uphill.

“Marvel Zombies” Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+.