Marvel‘s Kevin Feige has given an update on the forthcoming Blade reboot, suggesting its approach will be informed by how the studios have tackled  Deadpool & Wolverine. 

Blade has been a long time in the making, having first been announced in 2019 with Mahershala Ali attached to star as the titular half-vampire. Its release has been delayed by numerous changes in the names attached to the film, but it is expected to come out next year.

In an interview with BlackTree TV to promote Deadpool & Wolverine, which is out on Friday (July 26), the film producer was asked if the release of the film – the first R-rated [quivalent to a 15 in the UK] film from the studio – changes how they can approach Blade when the previous instalments had been R-rated as well.

“I think that’s right,” Feige replied. “I mean, for the last two years as we’ve been trying to crack that movie, the most important thing for us is not rushing it and making sure we are making the right Blade movie.”

He continued: “Because there were some great Blade movies years ago — they were all rated-R. So I think that’s, like Deadpool, inherent with the character of Blade.”

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Last month, director Yann Demange exited the project “amicably”. This marks the second director to leave the film. Mogul Mowgli director Bassam Tariq, who was originally tapped to direct, departed from the film in 2022, just weeks before it was due to begin filming.

Since the film’s announcement, at least five other writers have worked on the ever-changing script, with Logan and Alien: Covenant writer Michael Green writing prior to Pearson.

In May, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that he plans to release no more than three new Marvel films per year, as well as only two television series in the MCU. There are currently four MCU films scheduled for release in 2025: Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four and Blade, with another four slated for 2026, including the fifth Avengers film.

The decision to scale down output comes after a number of high-profile box office disappointments for the studio, including The Marvels, which drew the lowest opening for an MCU film since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The only new film in the MCU in 2024 is set to be Deadpool & Wolverine.