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The most disruptive thing in Hollywood isn’t anything as dramatic as relapsing movie stars or disputing directors. The quickest thing that will derail a movie is something as mundane as scheduling conflicts. A major Hollywood film is a big commitment for actors, so when production doesn’t go to plan it can have a knock-on effect on other movies. When it gets delayed as many times as Blade has, sometimes its star has to miss other opportunities as he waits for it to finally start filming.

As Blade loses its second director, it turns out Mahershala Ali has had to pass up on multiple other projects to stay attached to the vampire hunter’s first foray into the MCU. When commenting on the extraordinarily long development time for the movie, one agent noted that actors like Ali, who has been attached to the movie since 2019, “have missed about three windows to shoot other movies or shows.”

Part of the frustration that seems to be simmering behind the scenes of the film is how it keeps almost reaching the point of beginning production. It was just months from beginning principal photography when its first director, Bassam Tariq, was released by Marvel Studios. When Yann Demange was brought on, the movie was expected to start filming in May 2023 only to be shut down by the Hollywood strikes of 2023. Now Demange has also left the film, leaving it unlikely that Blade will hit its expected November 2025 release date.

Ali’s involvement was what originally convinced Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to greenlight the Blade reboot, so it makes sense that they would want to keep the Green Book actor onboard. However, there is only so long that he can keep his schedule clear for a movie that can’t quite make it to the filming stage.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters