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Canceled Marvel ‘Blade’ Reboot Lives On in Vampire Horror Film Sinners
Even as Marvel fans wait for Blade to finally slash his way into the MCU, a surprising piece of the shelved reboot has quietly made its big-screen debut—in an entirely different vampire film. Ryan Coogler’s horror hit Sinners has become the unexpected host of what producer Sev Ohanian calls a “fun Marvel Easter egg.” In a recent interview on the ScreenCrush podcast, Sev Ohanian revealed that the film’s costume designer, Oscar-winner Ruth E. Carter, had been working on Marvel’s delayed Blade project when production stalled. But instead of letting that work go to waste, Carter repurposed the wardrobe to dress the blood-soaked world of Sinners.
“At one point, [Blade] was going to deal with the past, around the same era as Sinners,” Sev Ohanian explained. “She happened to have a warehouse full of period-appropriate clothes, and it was like, ‘Yo, we got to shoot this movie like tomorrow.’”
In a rare and generous move, Marvel allowed the Sinners team to purchase the unused Blade wardrobe at cost. While the main cast of Sinners, including Michael B. Jordan, Jayme Lawson, and Wunmi Mosaku, wore custom costumes, many of the film’s background actors are fully outfitted in what was once destined for the Blade reboot.
Marvel first announced the Blade reboot with Mahershala Ali in 2019, igniting fan excitement for the return of the vampire hunter made famous by Wesley Snipes. But since then, the project has hit multiple setbacks—director shake-ups, creative overhauls, and industry strikes have all contributed to its delay. Last year, Blade was quietly removed from Marvel’s 2025 release schedule, casting doubt over its future.
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Still, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has reassured fans that Blade isn’t dead. “We love the character, we love Mahershala’s version of him,” Kevin Feige said in November 2024. “Rest assured: the character will be coming to the MCU.”
In the meantime, fans of gothic horror and Marvel lore can catch a glimpse of Mahershala Ali’s Blade DNA in Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners, which is earning acclaim as the year’s standout vampire film. With its rich visuals, gritty period setting, and subtle nods to vampire cinema history, Sinners is giving fans the bite they’ve been craving—even if the Daywalker himself hasn’t arrived just yet.
Whether intentional or not, Sinners now stands as a cinematic bridge between the MCU’s unrealized plans and a fresh, standalone horror universe. And thanks to Marvel’s willingness to lend its resources, a movie that might’ve gone unmade now drips with authenticity, right down to its resurrected wardrobe.
