A recent rumor claimed that Kevin Feige is keen to add Blade to the mix in Avengers: Secret Wars, and while this would be a slightly less surprising development, we're now hearing that the Daywalker is also being lined up for the planned Midnight Sons movie.
Daniel Richtman believes that Blade will have a "big role" in the film. The question is, will this version of the vampire-slayer be played by Mahershala Ali or Wesley Snipes?
Ali was asked about the status of the Blade reboot while being interviewed on the red carpet of last year's Jurassic World Rebirth premiere, and while he made it clear that he is still more than willing to suit-up as the Daywalker, the ball is very much in the studio's court.
"Call Marvel," the actor said to Variety. "I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready."
Ali had a little more to say to THR: “I would love for Blade to happen; we’ll see, I don’t know where Marvel is at right now. I’m just looking for the next great part, I really am.”
Last we heard, the latest draft by Eric Pearson - who is the sixth writer to have been assigned to the project after Michael Green, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury, Beau DeMayo and Nic Pizzolatto - had "finally satisfied everyone involved," but clearly this wasn't the case.
Apparently, the real reason Blade was pushed back again is because Marvel is prioritizing Multiversal stories in the build-up to Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. So, it may not be a case of the studio struggling to "get Blade right," and simply bad timing for Ali's Daywalker to make his MCU debut.
There have also been rumors that the positive response to Wesley Snipes' appearance in Deadpool and Wolverine may have led to the studio switching gears and deciding to make the reboot a Multiverse story that could feature both takes on the Daywalker.
Whatever the case may be, Feige assured fans that Marvel is "committed" to seeing Blade to fruition shortly after the most recent delay.
“We are committed to Blade. We love the character. We love Mahershala’s take on him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You’re all up to date on what’s happening. But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU."
It's important to keep in mind that a Midnight Sons movie has yet to be officially announced - although we'd say Marvel Studios assembling their supernatural characters for a team-up at some point is inevitable.
Multiple characters have been a part of or associated with the team in the comics over the years, but according to another recent rumor from The Cosmic Circus, the MCU's line-up will most likely include: Wong, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, & Man-Thing.
"Other names I’ve heard, from most to least likely, include Black Knight, Scarlet Scarab, Elsa Bloodstone, Dr. Strange, and even Agatha Harkness. But if I had to guess how many members I’d expect for this team lineup, I’d say between 6-9."
Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac showed interest in reprising his role(s) for a Midnight Suns project in a recent interview.
"I thought there was an interesting opportunity with Midnight Sons. There’s such interesting characters in there, and now that we’ve set the groundwork with learning who Marc, Steven, Jake are, it could be an interesting opportunity to see him as part of a team and what that dynamic would be. So I think that would be exciting, I think for me, I definitely hope there’s some room to explore that possibility."
As for who could wind up in the director's chair, we've previously heard that both Michael Giacchino (Werewolf By Night) and Fede Alvarez (Alien: Romulus) are on the studio's radar.
"Stephen Strange, AKA Doctor Strange, gathers a loose-knit confederation of mystically powered heroes, originally called the Nine and eventually the Midnight Sons, to serve as mankind's first line of defense against the Mother of Demons, Lilith, and her children, the Lilin."