The cursed Marvel movie that helped dress the characters in Sinners
When Marvel’s Blade reboot fell apart, Sinners stepped in, and gave its unused costumes a second life on screen.
Ryan Coogler’s 'Sinners’ has become one of 2025’s biggest box office surprises, but behind its stylish 1930s aesthetic lies an unexpected twist: many of the film’s costumes were originally created for Marvel’s long-delayed 'Blade’ reboot.
According to producer Sev Ohanian, the production team was able to purchase a warehouse full of period-appropriate clothing that had been designed for 'Blade‘, a version of the film that never made it to camera. The connection? Both projects shared Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who had been prepping 'Blade’ before the project was shelved.
A Marvel movie in limbo
Marvel’s 'Blade’, starring Mahershala Ali, was first announced in 2019 but has since become one of the studio’s most troubled productions. After multiple delays, director changes, and the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, the film remains stuck in development hell. One early version of the script, written by 'X-Men ’97′ showrunner Beau DeMayo, was set in the 1920s and required extensive period costuming, including a massive train set that was never used.
When 'Sinners’ sprinted into production, Carter saw an opportunity. As she told 'Designing Hollywood’, “I had already been living in that space for quite a long time, prepping 'Blade’, and Blade’s not going to happen, so let me hear [Coogler’s idea].”
Dressing the damned
While the lead cast of 'Sinners’, including Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku, wore custom-designed outfits, many of the background actors were dressed in the unused 'Blade’ wardrobe. The result is a film that feels both grounded in its 1930s setting and subtly infused with the DNA of a Marvel project that never was.
Marvel was reportedly “generous enough” to let the 'Sinners’ team purchase the costumes at cost, according to Ohanian. The move not only saved time and money, but also gave 'Sinners’ a visual richness that might not have been possible on its original timeline.
A glimpse of what Blade could have been
For fans of 'Blade’, the costumes in 'Sinners’ offer a bittersweet glimpse into a version of the film that may never see the light of day. While Mahershala Ali remains attached to the role, the project’s future is still uncertain. In the meantime, 'Sinners’ stands as a stylish, blood-soaked reminder of what might have been, and a testament to how one film’s loss can become another’s creative gain.
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