The Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen its Blade movie suffer a series of delays, which have led to actors departing the project, and a DC star who was previously attached to the film has now opened up. The MCU Blade movie was announced back at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. The film came to be due to Mahershala Ali’s desire to play Blade.
What seemed to be a streamlined process got complicated in the years that followed. Blade has gone through several changes, with the film initially scheduled to be released in theaters on November 3, 2023. It was later delayed to September 6, 2024, before moving to February 14, 2025, then November 7, 2025. The Blade movie has since been removed from the MCU’s release slate.
Due to those delays and story changes, multiple cast members exited the project. Speaking to Men’s Health, Aaron Pierre spoke out about why he is no longer attached to star in Blade. According to the actor, it was due to the project taking “a different creative direction.” Pierre also mentioned that he felt “elated” when he was cast in an undisclosed role in the movie.
“I remember being cast in Blade and feeling elated. But something I learned during that time was that until you step foot on the set, you haven’t commenced work. It just took a different creative direction, and I was no longer a part of it. You have to accept that.”
Given that the MCU’s Blade movie has had multiple directors and several writers, including X-Men ’97‘s Beau DeMayo, True Detective‘s Nic Pizzolatto, Black Widow‘s Eric Pearson, and more, its story has shifted many times. Blade was at one point set to take place in the 1920s. Marvel Studios’ President, Kevin Feige, has even claimed that two versions of the story were set in the past.
Feige also said two previous versions of the MCU’s Blade were set in the present, with the latest take on the story that Marvel is currently working on being set in the modern day. As such, it is easy to see how the MCU movie might have changed so much that Aaron Pierre’s character no longer makes sense for the story.
Since exiting Blade, Pierre has managed to secure a bigger role for himself in the superhero medium. The actor will star in James Gunn’s DC Universe as the Green Lantern John Stewart. Pierre’s DCU debut happens early next year in HBO’s Lanterns, which he co-stars in with Kyle Chandler, who plays the veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
As for the cast of the MCU’s Blade movie, Delroy Lindo was another major star to depart the project due to Blade‘s troubled production. Mahershala Ali remains attached to play the titular Daywalker, with horror star Mia Goth reportedly giving life to the villain Lilith. As of the time of writing, Marvel has yet to announce a new release date for Blade.