Marvel Just Pulled a Release Date — and It Spells Trouble for Blade
Blade just got pushed back—again. Disney has pulled Marvel Studios’ reboot from its July 23, 2027 slot, leaving the Mahershala Ali-led project first unveiled at SDCC 2019 off the schedule until 2028 at the earliest.
If you were hoping to finally see Mahershala Ali swing that sword, brace yourself. Marvel's Blade reboot just slipped again, and this time the delay pushes it out to 2028 at the earliest. Yep, nine years after that big Hall H reveal.
So what actually changed?
Disney pulled the July 23, 2027 slot that many expected would house Blade, then immediately handed that date to The Simpsons Movie 2. Translation: Blade is off the 2027 board entirely. The Simpsons sequel is now opening that same day alongside Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Locksmith Animation's Bad Fairies, while James Gunn drops his Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, on July 9, 2027. It is a very crowded July for capes and cartoons, just not for vampires.
Quick rewind: Marvel had parked an untitled movie on July 23, 2027, which is why people assumed it was Blade. With that stake pulled, Ali's first outing as the Daywalker is not landing before 2028. Again: nine years after San Diego Comic-Con 2019, when Marvel announced the project and Ali walked on stage to put on the hat. That is an entire elementary school career.
Marvel's bigger shuffle, at a glance
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Marvel/Sony) opens July 31, 2026, with Tom Holland back, plus Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, and Mark Ruffalo.
- Avengers: Doomsday arrives December 18, 2026, directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.
- Avengers: Secret Wars follows on December 17, 2027, also from the Russo brothers.
- James Gunn's Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, lands July 9, 2027.
- The Simpsons Movie 2 takes July 23, 2027, the date many thought was Blade's.
- Bad Fairies (from WB Pictures Animation and Locksmith Animation) opens the same day as Simpsons 2.
- Marvel Zombies premiered September 2025 on Disney+, featuring Blade Knight, a Blade/Moon Knight mash-up voiced by Todd Williams.
Blade is alive... just not the one you expected
Marvel quietly kept the character in circulation via animation. Marvel Zombies introduced Blade Knight, which exists outside the main MCU continuity. The creative choice also neatly sidestepped the live-action script carousel.
"We already knew immediately it was going to be Blade Knight," director Bryan Andrews said, explaining the animated take avoided collisions with whatever was happening in the live-action Blade script.
That bit comes via Variety, and it's a tidy example of how Marvel sometimes uses animation as a pressure valve when the movie side is in flux.
Where this leaves Ali's Blade
In limbo, again. With the July 2027 date now belonging to Springfield, and Marvel's late-2026 through 2027 runway stuffed with Spider-Man and two Avengers films, there is essentially no oxygen left for Blade until 2028 at the earliest.
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on SuperHeroHype.