When San Diego Comic-Con begins next month, it will be five years since Marvel announced the Blade reboot for the MCU, with Mahershala Ali set to play the day-walking half-vampire. But Blade is the most problematic production of the Multiverse Saga so far. There have been multiple release date delays in the past few years, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re getting one again.
Another director departed the project as well, and while leakers say Blade will still shoot this year in time for its late 2025 premiere, I’m starting to think another delay is imminent. Those rumors that said Spider-Man 4 might get Blade’s November 7th, 2025 release date make even more sense at this point. Mind you, some spoilers might follow.
The Covid pandemic and the industry strikes were certainly big factors that forced Marvel to delay the project’s release date several times. But those were not the only problems that impacted the Blade production.
Reports last week said that Blade will still start filming this year despite Yann Demange’s exit as director. It’s unclear who will replace him at the helm of the reboot, but I’m convinced Marvel won’t want to abandon the project. But getting a replacement might take time, which could cause delays.
It’s not just Demange’s exit that’s troubling. Marvel reportedly appointed Eric Pearson recently to write the film’s script. He’s at least the sixth writer to join the reboot since Marvel announced it. Variety has a great timeline of the Blade saga, covering all the arrivals and departures that have happened since 2019.
These developments made me remember a series of reports from earlier this spring. Leakers claimed that Spider-Man 4 will begin filming in late September. This schedule would give Sony and Marvel ample time to have the highly anticipated sequel in theaters for the Christmas 2025 season.
Reports said Sony targeted a 2025 launch, while Marvel wanted Spider-Man 4 to come out a year later. That’s because next year is busy as it is, with no fewer than four MCU movies planned to hit theaters. Blade is the last of them, with its November 7th release date.
The same reports speculated that Marvel might trade that November 7th date with Sony. Spider-Man 4 would be in theaters late next fall, with Blade to get a 2026 release date. November 7th is about as close to the Christmas window as possible.
Disney will release Avatar 3 in December 2025, and nobody will want to compete with that. Yes, Spider-Man: No Way Home made nearly $2 billion, and the Christmas 2021 premiere date certainly helped. But the real reason the MCU’s Spider-Man 3 got all that attention concerns the film’s cast. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returned to their Spider-Man versions, joining Tom Holland in the sequel.
Spider-Man 4 is unlikely to feature the three Spider-Man versions. I certainly hope it won’t. Sony reportedly wanted Maguire and Garfield to return and turn Spider-Man 4 into a big multiverse adventure. Apparently, Marvel won that fight, and Spider-Man 4 will be more toned down.
But Sony and Marvel have yet to announce Spider-Man 4. If production is set to start in late 2024, I’d expect an announcement at some point in the near future. That’s when the two studios should announce the Spider-Man 4 release date, possibly confirming that Spider-Man 4 will replace Blade next year.
Whatever Sony plans to do regarding the Spider-Man 4 announcement, we’ll get MCU news from Marvel at Comic-Con in late July. That’s when Marvel could give us a new release date for Blade.
