If you're a Blade fan, then it's fair to say the past five years haven't been the easiest. Mahershala Ali was announced as the MCU's Daywalker at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, only for the pandemic to come along the following year and delay Marvel Studios' plans for the movie.
Since then, the Blade reboot has lost various writers and directors (and even a few actors like Lanterns star Aaron Pierre). Just last month, it was finally removed from the MCU release calendar.
We haven't been expecting it to drop in 2025, of course, but it was another blow for fans.
On the plus side, we may finally have a positive update courtesy of scooper Daniel Richtman. Taking to X, he claimed, "[Mahershala] Ali likes the new draft and they're close to finding a director. It's the MCU film most likely to go into production next year with nothing else as close."
"So aside from the ones we already have ([Captain America: Brave New World], [Thunderbolts*], [The Fantastic Four]) it seems like [Spider-Man 4] and Blade are all that's left for this saga, other than the Avengers films."
With Spider-Man 4 likely to be a Multiversal movie, Blade would be a fitting palette cleanser to drop in that vacant November 6, 2026 slot. It's also possible we'll get it sooner than expected on February 13, 2026, particularly if Richtman's claims are close to accurate.
In other news, following yesterday's H.E.R.B.I.E.'s story, The Fantastic Four: First Steps may have a new title. A Redditor has spotted that the puppeteer has removed the robot from his LinkedIn profile and lists the movie, not with the title announced at Comic-Con, but as Fantastic Four: First Contact.
It would be strange to alter the movie's title after announcing it in San Diego, but let's face it, this wouldn't be the first time this has happened. Prior examples include Agatha All Along's many monikers, Captain America: New World Order/Captain America: Brave New World and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty/Avengers: Doomsday.
We'll see, but as filmmaker Matt Shakman and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige are both huge Trekkies, this alteration may be a nod to the 1996 Star Trek movie.
Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) will lead The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast.
We'll also see Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer, and Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne in mystery roles. The story sees Galactus and Silver Surfer target Earth for destruction.
Director Matt Shakman worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on The Fantastic Four: First Steps' screenplay, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) later coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.