Riding the high of its show-stopping New Glenn flight earlier this month, Blue Origin is now aiming even higher—toward the Moon. Now, the company’s lunar ambitions seem more tangible than ever with the unveiling of the Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lunar lander.
In an X post on Friday, Blue Origin owner and founder Jeff Bezos shared a first look at MK1. This 26-foot-tall (8-meter-tall) cargo lander is expected to embark on its first mission during the first quarter of 2026, touching down near the Shackleton crater at the Moon’s south pole.
Attempting this feat within the next four months will be high risk, high reward for Blue Origin. If Blue can pull off an uncrewed lunar landing before SpaceX, it could give the company a strategic advantage as NASA reevaluates lander providers for Artemis 3. But the tight timeline and complex hardware will present numerous challenges.
The Blue Moon MK1 flight vehicle that will land near Shackleton crater. We’ll soon be doing fully integrated checkout tests. At over 26 feet tall (8 meters), it’s smaller than our MK2 human lander but larger than the historic Apollo lander. pic.twitter.com/N8V8vqOYaV
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 21, 2025
Bezos’s big lander
According to Bezos, MK1 is smaller than Blue Origin’s human lander, MK2, but larger than NASA’s Apollo lander. This single-launch spacecraft is designed to launch aboard New Glenn and ferry up to 3.3 tons (3 metric tons) of payload to the lunar surface.
The Blue Moon Pathfinder mission will demonstrate and validate the lander’s hardware and systems. This includes its never-before-flown BE-7 engine, cryogenic fluid power and propulsion systems, avionics, continuous downlink communications, and precision landing.
MK1 will also be carrying a NASA payload called SCALPSS (Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies). This array of cameras will collect imagery during and after MK1’s descent, gathering critical data to assist future Moon landings and improve NASA’s understanding of how they affect the lunar surface.
MK1 is the largest commercial cargo lander ever built, capable of carrying far more payload than any of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) landers. MK1’s height could put it at greater risk of toppling over during its landing attempt, especially if its critical landing precision and control systems do not perform as expected.
Blue Origin will soon conduct “fully integrated checkout tests” of MK1, according to Bezos. This refers to ground tests that will evaluate performance for all the lander’s systems and hardware to ensure that it’s ready for flight.
This could help Blue anticipate and address issues during MK1’s deployment and landing attempt, but because it cannot fully replicate the lunar environment, unforeseen challenges could still arise.
Crunch time
Blue Origin’s goal of launching Blue Moon Pathfinder before the end of Q1 is very ambitious. Achieving an uncrewed lunar landing is a critical milestone that Blue ought not to rush, as ensuring mission success will require meticulous testing and validation of all systems.
Still, the timing appears to be right for several reasons. New Glenn achieved every single one of its mission objectives during its second test flight on November 13, indicating that it’s ready to launch a lunar landing mission. MK1’s development appears to be on track, and in theory, it could be ready to launch within the next several months—though ground testing could result in delays.
Perhaps the biggest motivator, however, is the Artemis 3 carrot dangling in front of Bezos’s face. NASA originally tapped SpaceX to build the Human Landing System (HLS) that will deliver the Artemis 3 astronauts to the Moon in mid-2027, but significant delays prompted the agency to reopen the contract in October.
Blue Origin has since stepped up to the plate. NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens previously told Gizmodo that the agency is evaluating plans from both SpaceX and Blue Origin for acceleration of Artemis 3 lander production. SpaceX detailed its plans to simplify the HLS architecture in late October, but leaked internal documents suggest the company still won’t be ready for an Artemis 3 launch until September 2028.
If NASA decides to go with Blue instead, it would be the company’s MK2 lander that would carry the Artemis 3 crew to the surface of the Moon. Demonstrating an uncrewed lunar landing with MK1 is a critical step toward the deployment of MK2, as these two landers share much of the same systems and hardware.
Hitting this milestone within the next four months would certainly give Blue a competitive edge, as SpaceX is nowhere close to a lunar landing. Still, Bezos ought not to let ambition get in the way of the Pathfinder mission’s success—especially with a NASA payload onboard. Failure could set the company’s lunar program back years.
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#Blue #Origin #Shows #MK1 #Lunar #Landerand #Bigger #Apollos
![Kevin Feige Has Finally Admitted ‘Blade’ Probably Isn’t Happening
“There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard. Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen. It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list.
However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said:
“How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?” Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.” So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play.
Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.” Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.” Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel](https://i2.wp.com/gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/07/Blade_DeadpoolWolverine-1280x853.jpg?ssl=1 "Kevin Feige Has Finally Admitted ‘Blade’ Probably Isn’t Happening
“There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard. Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen. It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list.
However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said:
“How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?” Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.” So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play.
Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.” Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.” Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel")
![Kevin Feige Has Finally Admitted ‘Blade’ Probably Isn’t Happening
“There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard. Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen. It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list.
However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said:
“How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?” Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.” So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play.
Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.” Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.” Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/07/Blade_DeadpoolWolverine-1280x853.jpg "Kevin Feige Has Finally Admitted ‘Blade’ Probably Isn’t Happening
“There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard. Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen. It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list.
However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said:
“How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?” Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.” So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play.
Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.” Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.” Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel")
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