Marvel Studios Blade Movie Loses One Of Its Stars

The rocky development of Blade has led to another shakeup for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Actor Aaron Pierre isn't attached to the project anymore. Speaking with Variety over the weekend, Pierre explained that he's "no longer part of that." He previously appeared in Old and will voice Mufasa in The Lion King prequel that's set to premiere this December.

Pierre was one of a few names linked to Blade, which will star Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the eponymous role. X and Pearl star Mia Goth reportedly joined the MCU movie almost a year ago. Shortly thereafter, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto was brought on to help with the script. But the Hollywood strikes put Blade on hold--along with most movies last summer. However, Blade faced a lot of setbacks previously as well.

For instance, in 2022, Blade lost director Bassam Tariq just months before the film was set to go into production. That led to the vampire-centric movie getting shut down. Blade was originally announced in 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con.

Late last year, Marvel shifted around a handful of movies, including Blade. While the movie was previously planned to premiere on Valentine's Day next year, Blade is currently slated to debut November 7, 2025. It sounds like Blade might be rated R, with new director Yann Demange hinting that it will follow in Deadpool 3's footsteps in that department.

For more on the character, check out GameSpot's retrospective on 1998's Blade starring Wesley Snipes.