Blade Star Wesley Snipes Reacts To Marvel's Latest Reboot Setback

Former Blade actor Wesley Snipes took a playful jab on X (formerly Twitter) at Marvel Studios amid ongoing turbulence surrounding the upcoming and increasingly rocky Blade reboot. The project, which aims to reintroduce the iconic vampire slayer with Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the lead role, recently hit another snag with director Yann Demange's departure.

"Blade, lordylordylordy 👀 folks still lookin for the secret sauce, ridin snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough." Snipes, who portrayed Blade in the original trilogy posted. "Daywalkers make it look easy, don't they? 😊"

On June 12, The Wrap reported Demange's departure as "entirely amicable," making it the second directorial exit following Bassam Tariq's departure in 2022. The film, scheduled for release on November 7, 2025, has also experienced turnover among its succession of screenwriters--never the death knell for a movie, but a setback that conveys there are problems behind the scenes.

Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow, Thunderbolts) is writing the script for Blade. Previous writers on board included True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto, alongside Michael Starrbury and Michael Green. The status of previously announced Blade cast members, including Mia Goth (X, Pearl, MaXXXine), remains unclear.

Ali, who first announced his involvement in 2019, remains attached to the role despite the complications and delays. His casting received positive feedback, including from Snipes himself, who expressed support for the new direction of the franchise. Despite Snipes' occasional jests at the project, he has maintained a positive stance towards Ali's portrayal.

The original Blade trilogy grossed over $418 million worldwide. Marvel's reboot aims to rejuvenate the franchise under its Phase Six initiatives, though challenges in production scheduling and script development have proven formidable.