Major Marvel movie reportedly in jeopardy; fans worried

Marvel Studios is currently riding high after the astronomical success of Deadpool and Wolverine. The movie's record-breaking box-office numbers are exactly the kind of win that the studio needed after a number of its recent titles had either underperformed or drawn a divisive response from viewers. But this movie has been the comeback audiences were hoping it would pull off.

There are a lot of exciting titles on the horizon too, which Marvel will no doubt ensure are as high quality as possible so that they can sustain this return to form they are in right now. We still have Agatha All Along to look forward to this year, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe adventures will return to the silver screen next year, with Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps all releasing in 2025.

There is also a fourth movie expected to release that year too. However, a number of reports, including a very recent one, suggest that it might not make that release date after that.

The MCU's Blade movie is in "a limbo state"

According to Marvel insider Alex Perez, Blade is currently in a "weird limbo state" at Marvel Studios. The scooper answered two fan questions during their August Q&A with fans (via The Cosmic Circus) with the same answer, which will no doubt increase the already-growing speculation about the film's future.

No, the notion of it being in a limbo state isn't surprising given the journey that the project has been on in the five years since it was announced, but the fact that it is still there during one of Marvel's most dangerous eras when it comes to upcoming or unconfirmed projects, well, it's a little worrying for fans of the character.

Blade was first announced back in 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. The film was a major step forward for the MCU as it was set to bring the iconic Daywalker into the franchise, officially welcoming vampires into it as well. Mahershala Ali was announced as the actor who would bring the titular vampire hunter to life, too.

Five years later and the movie has not yet even started filming much less arrived in theaters. There have been a number of reasons for that, particularly the departures of two directors and reported issues with the script (that resulted in a number of rewrites). Yes, it seemed as if the movie was stuck in development hell, and now with this new report, it seems like it hasn't gained much traction either.

Of course, the big worry here is that Marvel might scrap the movie altogether. The studio has reportedly been putting its new "less-is-more" release strategy into action, pivoting away from "risky" titles like Eternals 2 (and the rumored Ant-Man and Captain Marvel sequels) in order to focus on more sure-fire hits. If Blade is deemed a risk in the future, fans are worried that it too could end up being dropped.

Blade is currently set for release on November 7, 2025, but with little-to-no ground gained in terms of script development or production, it's looking less and less likely that the movie will release on that date. Fans are taking some hope from the fact that Disney rescheduled a number of movies and shifted a few release dates around, and yet left Blade where it is. That means that there is still a chance that the Daywalker could make his presence felt next year. But with the limbo state still reportedly ongoing, a 2026 release could still be on the cards.