Did Marvel Zombies have to change its course due to the Blade reboot? Marvel executive Brad Winderbaum reveals how delays changed the series.
One of the most exciting aspects of Marvel Zombies is the reveal that Blade will finally be making his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, fans were a tad confused when it was revealed that the character shown in the series would be a variant completely untethered from the reboot, this time focusing on the Daywalker as wielding the powers of Moon Knight.
It seems as though this wasn’t entirely a creative decision either. When speaking about Blade’s role in Marvel Zombies, Brad Winderbaum explained that the series was originally being development concurrently with the reboot. However, as the film got delayed, the team made a call to differentiate their take on the character as to not be tied to the changing canon.
“We felt like Blade was gonna be really exciting to put on screen, and we never thought that we would come out before the live-action Blade,” Winderbaum told ComicBook.com. “It was always designed to be after. But we knew that we’d be in concurrent development.”
“Sometimes when you’re chasing live-action like that, if they pivot, and you don’t pivot in the same way, you get stuck because animation needs a lot more lead time. Making him the Fist of Konshu freed us up in a lot of ways, because he became now a new character with lore that we were creating for him, which let us kind of be more free and less tethered to the live action plans.”
Marvel Zombies’ Team Speaks Out On Blade Hype
Despite the series having a version of Blade completely divorced from the upcoming reboot, it seems as though fans are still hyped to see the Dhampir return to the small screen. Marvel Zombies showrunner Bryan Andrews spoke about this excitement in the same interview, revealing how grateful he feels to reintroduce the character to fans.
“It was rad [seeing Blade in Marvel Zombies]. We had no idea that it would be the first. We really thought that the Blade movie would be out and done by now, so it turned into this really wonderful, surprise privilege and honor to have him come out.”
“So, the people who are nerding out over the trailer are nerding out over the big set piece of Blade. And I think it’s really high praise that when they see that, they go, ‘The movie! Why can’t we have a movie? It better be that cool! Oh my God!’, you know? That type of stuff is so gratifying to hear, so I’m thankful for it.”
Given the current status of the Blade reboot, it’s likely that the version fans see in Marvel Zombies will be the only one they have for years. Even if the film starts production early next year, it likely won’t be due out until mid-to-late 2027 at the earliest. So while that may be disappointing, at the very least fans have SOMETHING to tide them over.
Marvel Zombies will release on September 24th, 2025 on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
