Mahershala AliImage via mpi099MediaPunch/INSTARimages
Marvel Studios is eyeing a huge year in 2026, especially thanks to this weekend’s launch of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is expected to open with one of the biggest box office hauls in history. The film has already scored more than $70 million in Thursday previews, shattering the record previously held by Avengers: Endgame, which opened with around $60 million during its first day in theaters. The film was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously made his Marvel debut back in 2021 helming the Simu Liu-led Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Cretton also worked on the first season of Wonder Man, which dropped as a binge earlier this year on Disney Plus, but despite being initially renewed for Season 2, news broke just yesterday that the show had been canceled and would no longer return.
Another Marvel Project that has been subject to cancellation rumors for years is Blade, the troubled vampire film that was set to star Mahershala Ali. After countless delays that eventually led to the film being pulled from the release schedule entirely, Ali has seemingly confirmed that the MCU’s Blade movie has been officially canceled. During a recent profile with GQ for his next movie, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Ali was asked where the Blade movie stands and what his status is with Marvel. He didn’t hold back, saying: “I have moved on. I’m good. You had me under contract. If they wanted to do the movie, we would have done the movie. Sowe’re not doing the movie. They didn’t want to do it, so they should answer that question.”
Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
🕷️Spider-Man
😈Daredevil
🤖Iron Man
💀Punisher
⚡Thor
🛡️Cap
01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
Queens, New York
🕷️ Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
😈 Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
🤖 Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
💀 The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
⚡ Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
🛡️ Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
‘Blade’s Cancellation Is the MCU’s Biggest Failure
What makes Blade’s cancellation so frustrating is that, not only is he one of the most popular Marvel characters, but Ali would have instantly been one of the most talented actors in the entire Marvel universe. Ali is already a two-time Oscar winner for his performances in Moonlight and The Green Book, and it was later in the same year (2019) that he won his second Oscar that Marvel brought him out on stage at San Diego Comic-Con to officially announce him as the next Daywalker. After hiring and moving on from several writers and directors, with actors like Aaron Pierre and Delroy Lindo leaving the project in the last few years, the writing has been on the wall for a while that Blade wasn’t happening.
Stay tuned to Collider for more MCU updates and coverage of Mahershala Ali’s future projects.
