Oscar winner Mahershala Ali says he’s as confused as the rest of us when it comes to Marvel Studios’ failure to get a “Blade” film together following his announcement for the role back in 2019.
Back in July, Ali revealed he finally walked away from the part after seven years of failed attempts to adapt the property, telling GQ: “For whatever reason, that project is not for me. If they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it. So I have to move on, and I have moved on.”
The project famously went through at least five writers and two filmmakers and came close back in 2022, but never quite got into production. Earlier this year, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige told HSC: “I am feeling like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”
Now, the actor has given a new interview with GQ and agrees with that assessment after being asked about the small number of films in his resume after his Oscar win:
“That should have been six or seven. Blade didn’t happen, which I felt like definitely impacted how things unfolded in my trajectory… They had, as you said, a two-time Oscar-winning actor under contract and you got billions of dollars. That’s a question for them. I don’t mean anything personal to you, but I don’t know why it didn’t. To this day, I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I just know that it was – Kevin [Feige], he said it was the biggest failure of his career and I agree… I agree with him. I agree with him 100%. 100%. He should feel that way.”
Ali added that he spent a year training for the film, even injuring himself during the process:
“I trained so hard till I blew my knee out. Like, I was just waiting for them. Pushing it back, pushing it back. I’m still training. I’m training. I’m learning sword work. I’m learning, like, name a martial art; I’m training in it. I literally moved, uprooted my family, moved to Atlanta. We’re there waiting to go, and they just keep pushing it back, pushing it back, pushing it, and it doesn’t happen. And then it’s a strike.”
He also confirmed he turned down a lot of offers: “I’m saying no to things in that time because they own my schedule basically.”
Bassam Tariq was the original helmer slated to do the film, and both he and Ali worked together on “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” which is hitting cinemas.
