The Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of Blade has had a long, rough ride through the development process, and as of right now it doesn’t even have a director attached (Jeymes Samuel, a.k.a. The Bullitts, who previously directed the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and the Biblical dramedy The Book of Clarence, was recently rumored for the job, but he said there was no truth to the rumor). So there probably weren’t many Marvel fans who were expecting the movie to stick with its November 7, 2025 release date – and therefore, few will be surprised or disappointed to hear that Blade has indeed been bumped out of 2025. Deadline reports that Disney will be releasing 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands on November 7, 2025 instead of Marvel’s vampire slayer movie.

The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but we’ve passed the five year anniversary of that announcement, and there’s still no sign that Blade will be filming any time soon. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. We recently heard a rumor that Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she has said that she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project. Two directors, Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, have dropped out along the way.

As for Predator: Badlands, this one is coming our way from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, making him the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise. Trachtenberg crafted the story, which was then fleshed out into a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison.

According to a casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future.

The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister.

Super 8‘s Elle Fanning stars in the film, which went into production in New Zealand earlier this year.

What do you think of Predator: Badlands bumping Blade out of its November 2025 release date? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

While taking Blade off of their schedule, Disney revealed that they have scheduled three untitled Marvel movies for release on February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028.

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Back in February, it was announced that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg would become the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise, as he was moving ahead with a new Predator film titled Badlands, working from a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison (based on a story crafted by Trachtenberg himself), with filming expected to begin this summer. In June, it was revealed that Super 8‘s Elle Fanning had been cast in the film. Now, the folks at AVPGalaxy have learned that Badlands is currently in production in New Zealand, filming under the codename Backpack, and they’ve gotten their hands on a casting call that reveals some details about the project!

According to this casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future.

The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister.

The casting call notes that filming would be taking place in New Zealand from late June through September. As for the physical requirements of the actress, “Must be comfortable training for heavy action/combat, must also be comfortable wearing prosthetics/heavy makeup, and MUST be 5’8” or shorter.” It seems likely that Elle Fanning has been cast as Thia and Tessa, even though she’s not 5’8″ or shorter. Fanning is reportedly 5’9″. Close enough?

AVPGalaxy has heard that Badlands has been filming in Rotorua and Te Kuiti, and will be heading to South Head next.

What do you think of the Predator: Badlands details revealed on the casting call? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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Elle Fanning (The Great, The Neon Demon, Super 8) could be trading her bustle for survival gear after being in talks to join the cast of Dan Trachtenberg’s standalone Predator film Badlands. Deadline says Fanning is negotiating for the role in the highly anticipated film, which Trachtenberg is directing and co-writing with Patrick Aison.

Anticipation for Trachtenberg’s Prey follow-up is through the roof. Prey was a surprise smash hit of 2022, with Trachtenberg and star Amber Midthunder arguably delivering the best Predator movie since the 1987 classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Plot details for Badlands remain a mystery, as do the film’s release plans. Prey premiered exclusively on Hulu to record numbers during the pandemic. However, 20th Century Studios is going hard in the paint with its extraterrestrial action flicks and the upcoming Alien: Romulus coming to theaters. It would not be surprising to see Badlands debuting on the silver screen alongside the Xenomorph threat.

In addition to Elle Fanning possibly joining the cast of Badlands, a new Alien game called Alien Rogue Incursion was previewed at Sony Playstation’s latest State of Play presentation. The single-player action game launches during the 2024 Holiday window on Steram, the PlayStation VR2, and Meta Quest 3. The VR-based first-person shooter finds players hunted by a vicious Xenomorph in a claustrophobic environment on Purdan. Players use pulse rifles and other iconic weapons to survive the onslaught, with Xenomorphs spawning in the shadows, looking to make a meal out of anyone dumb enough to stand in their way.

Speaking of video games, Elle Fanning stars in Hideo Kojima’s upcoming sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. She joins Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Troy Baker, Shioli Kutsuna, Jonathan Roumie, Kevin Ko, Krishna Kumar, Marty Rhone, and Joseph Anthony DePronio II for the anticipated, narratively-baffling follow-up to the 2019 original.

Meanwhile, Elle Fanning is currently filming Going Electric for director James Mangold. The story revolves around the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, where a young Bob Dylan shakes up his act on the folk music scene by going electric and siring rock as the voice of a generation.

Are you excited about Elle Fanning joining the cast of Dan Trachtenberg’s Badlands? Let us know in the comments section below.

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This week: Back to Middle Earth with The Hobbit, Oscar runners-up Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty, and the painful hilarity of This is 40.

► There was pretty much zero chance THE HOBBIT could ever live up to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, for the simple fact the source material isn’t anywhere near as epic or emotional. How do you go back to Middle Earth after all we’ve been through? Peter Jackson tries, and if you can put the inevitable comparisons aside, it’s another fun, visually potent trip to a world we all know and love. The adventure this time follows a young Bilbo (Martin Freeman) as he joins a group of misplaced dwarves seeking to reclaim their mountainous home from a gold-greedy dragon named Smaug. Along the way, they confront trolls, orcs and goblins. Best of all is Gollum, who loses a prized piece of jewelry to Bilbo. With lowered expectations, seeing Gandalf, Elrond and (very briefly) Frodo again will give you the warm and fuzzies. But as always, expect a longer director’s cut Blu-ray down the road.

► A superior movie in every way to her Oscar-winning ‘The Hurt Locker,’ Kathryn Bigelow’s ZERO DARK THIRTY was given a raw deal at this year’s Oscars. In time, though, this will be remembered as one of the great post 9/11 movies for its stark realism and flawless final 30 minutes, when we’re holding our breath as a Navy Seal team raids Osama Bin Laden’s compound in the dead of night. There’s no music or cheap effects, just the real-time dread of getting in and getting out before everything goes to hell. It may have been last year’s most riveting moment of cinema, and it’s too bad political squeamishness has become the focal point of this amazing movie. No director’s commentary on the blu-ray, unfortunately – I’d love to hear the velvet-voiced Bigelow tell her critics to get bent.

► Was it just me, or was there an over-abundance of guys admitting they wept during LES MISERABLES? It got weird after awhile. “I don’t usually cry at movies, dude, but when that Anne Hathaway started … I was bawling!” Gentlemen, it’s time to grab the Kleenex (for non-porn reasons) and find out for yourselves. Though that Oscar for Hathaway is a sign itchy eyes are imminent. This isn’t the first movie version of the epic musical, and it certainly won’t be the last. Bonus features include stars Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried discussing singing live, and a look at the barricade sequence.

► If THIS IS 40 isn’t Judd Apatow’s finest movie, it’s damn close – a warm and extremely telling movie about one generation slowly letting the next take over, and all the insecurities it entails. It’s also one of the most bang-on relationship comedies of the past decade, as Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann have their own unique midlife crisis. Along the way there’s so much to love, from Graham Parker’s surprising role to an on-going gag about the ending to ‘Lost.’ There are some directors you just follow blindly, and from that first episode of ‘Freaks and Geeks’ Apatow has never disappointed.

► Pushing ‘Bridesmaids’ to its utmost, unlikeable extreme, BACHELORETTE gathers three miserable women (Kisten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan) who destroy their friend’s wedding dress the night before she’s getting married. Received some of last year’s most vicious reviews. Produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.

► Criterion’s weekly gift is a biggie: Terrence Malick’s hugely influential 1973 classic BADLANDS, a less audience-friendly ‘Bonnie & Clyde.’ Inspired by an actual killing spree in 1958, Martin Sheen stars as an outcast who kills the father of his girlfriend (Sissy Spacek) then flees into the woods and eventually across South Dakota racking up a body count. ‘Natural Born Killers’ was essentially a gonzo remake. No Malick commentary, but a new making-of documentary fills the void.

► Us Canadians have a perverse sense of pride over PORKY’S. When adjusted for inflation, it is still the most successful film this country ever produced. From the day it opened in 1982 it has been like the crude uncle we’re embarrassed to admit we like. Yes, the sequels suck, but Bob Clark’s low-brow original with its howling Kim Cattrall, Ms. Balbricker, and weenies in the shower hole was an adolescent rite of passage in the ‘80s.

► Snooki go bye bye. Finally. The sixth and final season of JERSEY SHORE is your last chance to bash the coma-inducing stupidity of these talentless meatheads and thank them – once again – for lowering the standards of television to Honey Boo Boo. It doesn’t matter what they do this last season as long as they friggin’ leave, but if you need the particulars: Snooki is pregnant, Mike comes back from rehab, Vinny ponders a threesome, and in the final episode, someone puts their balls on The Situation’s birthday cake. So long, scumbags.

Also out this week:

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LISTING OF ALL THE COOLEST DVD RELEASES OF THIS WEEK AND THE REST OF THE YEAR!

SO WHAT DVD/BLU-RAYS ARE YOU GUYS STOKED ABOUT THIS WEEK?!

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