On October 22nd, the move we long suspected was in the works came to be: Mahershala Ali’s highly anticipated Blade reboot was officially taken off the release schedule over at Marvel Studios. Since its initial announcement in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con in 2019, Kevin Feige still had a pin in his calendar for a November 7th release date. This comes as no surprise seeing how the film has been plagued with bad luck for five years as it’s seen a handful of writers and directors exit the project before production got started.
Fans have been left in the dark as development has been stagnant with no teaser trailer, no poster, no plot details, nothing. Besides Ali in the lead role, all we know is that Yann Demange is set to direct the phase 6 film with Pearl’s Mia Goth to star as a character named Lilith. In a red carpet interview for MaXXXine, Goth spoke with Deadline on her experience working with Marvel saying, “They want to make a great movie”. Fans have long cosigned Ali as a solid choice to reprise the vampire killer that Wesley Snipes brought to life in 1998 (Snipes took a friendly jab in Deadpool & Wolverine saying, “There’s only been one Blade, there will only ever be one Blade”).
It’s great to see Blade coming up on being back in the spotlight, as many credit Snipes with being the first to pave the way for Marvel characters in the film space. To sweeten the deal for Daywalker fans, a video game is being developed from Arkane Lyon and Bethesda Softworks with a 2027 release date. The teaser trailer displays visually stunning graphics as it’ll follow up the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2: Miles Morales games that were huge hits at launch.
While we are bummed to hear about the setback, vampire enthusiasts can rejoice as director Ryan Coogler teams up again with Michael B. Jordan for Sinners. While it offers a very different take on bloodsuckers, it carries the potential to be a massive box office success for 2025. Let’s learn a little more about what’s in store.
After a bidding war for the film’s rights, Sinners will release via Warner Bros and marks Ryan Coogler’s return to directing after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (he also has his hand in Eyes of Wakanda, an animated series set to release on Disney+ later this year). This film sees Jordan portraying a set of twin brothers in the Jim Crow-era in the South who return home only to find the evil that lies ahead. From the looks of it, it fits the bill for a chilling thriller, with the trailer previewing lines like, “Of all the things that I’ve seen, I ain’t ever seen no demons, no ghosts, no magic…till now.”
Often described as a dynamic duo given their string of successes with Creed, Fruitvale Station, and the Black Panther films, fans were hype when Coogler and Jordan announced they would be teaming up for a vampire flick back at CinemaCon earlier this year. The film also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Omar Benson Miller, Wunmi Mosaku, and Jayme Lawson, with a release date set for March 7th. The marketing team is already rolling out their campaign as members of the press and influencers received in-person deliveries of a smoking glass of whiskey. The trailer looks really good as Coogler nails the ability to give us a sneak peek to reel us in without giving away too much as the exact plot is still not clear. Regardless, we will be seated as Jordan and Coogler have yet to disappoint us so we know we’re in for something good.
Fans of horror and thrillers will definitely show up for Sinners given Coogler has been known to be a creative genius. Jordan isn’t too bad himself, given Creed 3 was a solid hit with him in the directors chair. Personally, I can’t see how this film doesn’t kill it at the box office if the trailer is any indication of what we’re in store for. One thing that could ruin Sinners is if there’s a plot twist that is so far-fetched, people leave disappointed and word travels causing folks to avoid it (we witness this exact thing happened recently with Joker: Folie à Deux).
What was once going to be a year where Black vampire flicks were thriving has now come down to one contender. Regardless, we are so here for Sinners stepping in as the must-see Black vampire flick for 2025 so BGN will be seated for this one. Coogler and Jordan have some big shoes to fill as moviegoers were definitely saddened to learn about the Blade delay, but something tells me these men will definitely deliver.