‘Sinners’ Used Costumes from ‘Blade’ Reboot

Marvel’s long-gestating “Blade” reboot has officially been pulled from Disney’s 2025 release schedule, but a small piece of the would-be Mahershala Ali vehicle still made its way to the big screen this year.

The troubled film, which was first announced in 2019 before experiencing multiple delays, had enlisted Oscar-winning “Black Panther” costume designer Ruth Carter, who had already assembled a warehouse full of period clothing for the scrapped shoot. But her hard work on “Blade” wasn’t in vain, as frequent collaborator Ryan Coogler soon enlisted her to work on “Sinners,” which required a very similar arsenal of period outfits.

In a recent interview with ScreenCrush (via Variety), “Sinners” producer Sev Ohanian explained that many of the background actors in “Sinners” wore costumes originally designed for “Blade” after Marvel agreed to cheaply sell them to the Warner Bros. production. He also noted that Carter designed specific original costumes for all of the main characters in “Sinners.”

“Ruth Carter was working on the ‘Blade’ movie that ended up not shooting,” Ohanian said. “At one point that movie was going to deal with, and she’s talked about this before, but at one point that film was going to deal with the past around the same era as ‘Sinners.’ She happened to have a warehouse full of period-appropriate clothes, and it was like, ‘Yo, we got to shoot this movie like tomorrow.’ And Marvel was generous enough and kind enough to let us basically purchase it at price.”

While the status of the “Blade” reboot remains uncertain, Coogler will have plenty of opportunities to return the favor, as he is expected to return to Marvel to direct “Black Panther 3” as his next project. Denzel Washington recently revealed that he would be playing an unspecified role in the Marvel sequel, which Coogler confirmed while promoting “Sinners.”

“There’s no fiction out there,” Coogler said on Carmelo Anthony’s “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast. “Denzel is family at this point…I’ve been trying to work with him since day one. I think he’s the greatest living actor, and in terms of what he means to our culture, forget about it. I’ve been talking to him about this to him for a long time.”