Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is currently at D23 Brazil and shared several big MCU updates in a wide-ranging interview with our friends over at Omelete.
Much has been said about whether Blade will become a reality following yet another release date delay, and while the reboot remains undated as we write this, Feige insists Mahershala Ali will get his chance to shine in the MCU.
"We're committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala's version of him," the executive confirmed. "And rest assured, whenever we change direction with a project, or are still trying to figure out how it fits into our schedule, we let the public know. You're updated on what's going on. But I can say that the character will make it to the MCU."
Feige was asked about another long-absent character, Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. We'd expected Agatha All Along to provide a definitive update on the hero's status, though all we were ultimately told is that Wanda Maximoff is "gone."
"We had Agatha All Along on Disney+ just now, and that series was great for us," Feige said. "Since then, there have been a lot of questions about Wanda in fans' minds... So all I can say is that we're excited to find out when and how Scarlet Witch can come back."
With Spider-Man 4 fast approaching, the site also wondered whether we're nearing Miles Morales' long-overdue live-action debut. "Miles will appear in the third Spider-Verse, which is in production," he said of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. "I hope that, shortly after that, he will be able to enter the MCU in live-action."
Finally, talk turned to the X-Men reboot. Marvel Studios has been sitting on those rights for a good few years now and seems to have already mapped out the role mutants will play in this shared world.
"When we were preparing for Avengers: Endgame years ago, it was a matter of getting to the grand finale of our narrative, and then we had to start all over again after that," Feige revealed. "This time, on the road to Secret Wars, we already know very well what's going to happen. be the story until then and beyond. The X-Men are an important part of that future."
As for how Deadpool and Wolverine could factor into that, he added, "The plans with Deadpool and Wolverine will always be the same: we're always wondering where we can fit them in, and how fast."
Looking ahead to the future, Feuge also confirmed we'll see more multi-season TV shows and admitted that the extremely busy 2025 - which will feature the release of at least 10 movies and series - isn't going to be the norm.
"We're going to have more renewals. That starts with Daredevil: Born Again. We're really excited to premiere the first season next year, when we'll already be filming the second. It shows that we like the idea of developing shows over multiple seasons - after all, that's one of the most cool things on television."
"I think I can say that we are back to normal, more or less. In the past, we had four films and four series a year, and I think we'll go down to two films, three series - but that won't be the case for 2025, specifically. It turns out that we've been working on these titles for a long time, and they just happen to be ready for release now. We are very excited."
"When you set out to make two Avengers films - they are colossal, gigantic, and consume you completely. But we have already announced a Spider-Man film that will be released between Doomsday and Secret Wars."
Feige will be on stage a couple of hours from now so keep checking back here for more MCU updates!