When Will Marvel’s Blade Movie Release?

When will Marvel’s Blade movie release? Mahershala Ali is officially playing Blade in the MCU, as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed during the studio’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. Since MCU’s Phase 4 will take up the entirety of 2020 and 2021, Blade won’t release until at least 2022. But what date specifically?

When exactly will Blade release?

In 1998, New Line Cinema released the original Blade adaptation. Wesley Snipes starred as the title character – a half-human, half-vampire hunter with strong martial arts skills. Produced for $45 million, Blade earned over $131 million at the box office and inspired two sequels, Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004). Despite the trilogy’s cult status and Snipes’ spectacular performances, Marvel is choosing to reboot Blade, with Ali playing Blade instead of Snipes. And given that Ali personally reached out to Marvel Studios about headlining the franchise, it seems that he’s more than ready to begin production. However, Blade has indeed been confirmed as a Phase 5 film. 

Black Panther established Chadwick Boseman as the MCU’s first black lead. Now, Marvel and Ali will look to further diversify the franchise, along with Tessa Thompson who will become the MCU’s first LGBTQ superhero in Phase 4’s Thor: Love and Thunder. But when exactly will Blade release? Best guess is either February or July 2022.

For 2022 and beyond, Blade is one of six movies being developed, all presumably for the MCU’s Phase 5. Right now, there are three release dates open in 2022 – February 18, May 6, and July 29 – so which movies will take those slots? Blade is a prime candidate for February, considering that it’s the same month that saw Black Panther achieve mind-blowing success. Then again, a July release date would make the film a prime summer blockbuster. Blade is a property that could pull it off, and Ali is an actor who could certainly carry that weight.

Given what we know so far, the MCU’s Phase 5 will most likely begin with Blade, Black Panther 2, and Captain Marvel 2 in 2022. For 2023, fans can then expect Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, along with potentially X-Men and Fantastic Four films. February 2022 will mark four years since Black Panther’s release, but the sequel will probably be positioned for spring 2022, in order to highlight Blade as the Phase 5 tone-setter. It’s certainly possible that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 could even take the May 6 slot, with its lighter tone contrasting with Blade’s edgy premise. So, Blade fans, don’t worry about having to wait until 2023. It’s reasonable to predict that Blade will release on February 18, 2022. But we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the end.