Blade (MCU)

[Silver Nemesis]

I'll re-title this thread when more information is available, but for now all we know is that a new Blade movie or TV show is on the way starring 2-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali.

I'm hoping Ali will affect a London accent, since every previous Blade adaptation completely ignored the comic book character's nationality. I'm also hoping it will be R-rated, though that seems unlikely. A PG-13 Blade movie would be like a PG-13 Punisher movie. Just wrong. I always thought the Netflix format would have been perfect for Blade. They could have made it as dark and violent as they liked and featured brutal martial arts scenes on a par with Daredevil. The second half of Daredevil season 2 already touched upon the realm of supernatural horror, so the path was clear for a Blade series.

When they first announced The Defenders project, I had a theory they'd follow it up with a similar set of shows based on the Midnight Sons comics: Blade, Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider, Morbius, Man-Thing, etc. Basically all the remaining dark characters that wouldn't fit in a PG-13 popcorn flick. But obviously that's not going to happen now. Having an actor like Ali play a prominent role in both Luke Cage and Blade more or less confirms that the Netflix shows are apocryphal anyway. Many of us suspected as much, so I can't say I'm shocked. Perhaps the rumours about a new Daredevil being introduced in Spider-Man: Leaving Home/Homesick/Home is Where the Hurt Is, or whatever it's called, have some truth to them after all.

It's interesting to see both Blade and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness bringing the supernatural horror side of the Marvel Universe to the fore. I don't mind DS2 being PG-13, but this Blade project really needs to be R-rated. Otherwise it'll be a tough sell with the older fans. I also hope they don't start doing the whole Black Panther thing of pretending this is the first black superhero movie. That would be a disservice to the first two Snipes movies.

Overall, I'm not sure what to make of this news. I'm glad to see Blade is returning, but I'm disappointed it's not Snipes and I have concerns about how Marvel Studios might handle the project.

[Silver Nemesis]

It looks like Blade is probably going to be PG-13:
https://comicbook.com/movies/news/blade-likely-pg-13-marvel-studios-kevin-feige-teases/

I don't understand why Deadpool can be rated R, but any future Blade, Daredevil and Punisher movies will likely get lumbered with PG-13 ratings. If Feige said that all MCU films had to be PG-13, then that I could understand. I wouldn't approve, but I'd understand the logic behind trying to expand their target audience (a deeply flawed logic, since many of the hardcore fans will boycott these films if they think they're being watered down). But why is Deadpool exempt from the rule and not Blade, Daredevil or Punisher? I still think there's a good chance Matt and Frank will end up scoring R-rated shows on the new Disney+ Star channel, but Blade's future is looking worryingly neutered.

I'll stick with the Snipes trilogy.

Speaking of which, Snipes is making his own 'Blade-killer' movie that sounds like a spiritual successor to the earlier films.

Snipes said of making the original "Blade" trilogy, "We were white belts then, wait until you see now what we do as black belts," alluding to a new action movie that "is going to smoke all of the 'Blade' stuff."

What is the project? "It's what we call our 'Blade'-killer, our 'Blade' on steroids," Snipes said. "And we set our character in the world of shape-shifters and a little bit of time travel. But the action is going to be...Well, we did white belt action in 'Blade.' Now we're going to do black belt action."

"It's wonderful what we did [on 'Blade'], but, brother, we're so much better than we were then. So much better now than we were then," Snipes continued. "Yes, indeed. And we've got more tools. Some of the things that were innovated in the 'Blade' franchise in the first film are now standard in the Marvel universe and all of these other action movies. And the technology allows them to do a lot of things we couldn't do then. Now give us the technology, and we've already got the skills and the flavor. It's popping, baby!"

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/02/wesley-snipes-mcu-blade-1234619048/

Honestly, this sounds way more fun than Feige's MCU Blade picture.

[The Joker]

The news about Deadpool 3 being rated R and not Blade, comes across like Feige and his overlords at Disney are just fulfilling an obligation to the Deadpool trilogy being rated R. Plus, I'm sure they are astute enough to at least be aware that there would be some heavy criticisms of those line of films going from being rated R to a more family friendly PG-13 rating. That screams Robocop 3 to me. Yeah, thanks but at the same time, no thanks.

Soooo ... apparently, we better soak that R rating up under the Disney banner, cause there won't be more where that came from.

With Blade going PG-13, the Disney/Feige sanitization is completely blatant.

It's more or less about getting the character to serve the MCU, rather than Disney attempting to serve the character. We've seen this before, and we'll see it again. Which is why I've remained continually reluctant to get super excited about potential Charlie Cox/Matt Murdock, and/or Jon Bernthal/Frank Castle appearances within the MCU. I get some fans would be happy for the actors to return in those roles for continued appearances, but I felt the Netflix approach/tone was just the right fit for them. Seeing them under a different light, the MCU light we shall say, is something to feel highly suspect about.

Some character's work best in a more adult style of storytelling. Same goes for particular franchises that originated from comic books.

Blade. Punisher. The Crow. Judge Dredd. Spawn (HBO Spawn was amazing!). Vampirella (very adult and fun stuff especially the Mark Millar/Grant Morrison runs, as is the early Warren issues. Plus, she's hot.). Spectre (go read John Ostrander's run and you'll never in a million years would want to see a live action Spectre movie/series to be rated PG-13) Lobo (PG-13 movie or R rated Lobo movie ... yeah that's going to be a tough decision! You bet.) Ect, ect, ect.

In 1998, we got a Blade movie, that many people were unaware had anything to do with Marvel comic books, that was not only successful, but enduring. Thanks to giving us something different. In 2021, it's PG-13 (and you're gonna love it!) and sticking to the MCU "formula".

Sure. Ok. I get it. Pass.

[The Laughing Fish]

It's more or less about getting the character to serve the MCU, rather than Disney attempting to serve the character. We've seen this before, and we'll see it again. Which is why I've remained continually reluctant to get super excited about potential Charlie Cox/Matt Murdock, and/or Jon Bernthal/Frank Castle appearances within the MCU. I get some fans would be happy for the actors to return in those roles for continued appearances, but I felt the Netflix approach/tone was just the right fit for them. Seeing them under a different light, the MCU light we shall say, is something to feel highly suspect about.

I feel exactly the same way. If those actors get to play those roles again and pick up where Netflix left off, I'll be delighted. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

In 1998, we got a Blade movie, that many people were unaware had anything to do with Marvel comic books, that was not only successful, but enduring. Thanks to giving us something different. In 2021, it's PG-13 (and you're gonna love it!) and sticking to the MCU "formula".

Sure. Ok. I get it. Pass.

I'll admit, I'm not the biggest Blade fan out there, but there's no doubt that film did kick off a resurgence for comic book adaptations, after the negative legacy B&R left behind. It's a shame that people with short memories try to downplay its significance, such as critics who called Black Panther the first ever black superhero movie, forgetting Blade already did it twenty years earlier.

Feige's quote at SDCC 2019 while promoting Doctor Strange 2 says it all, the MCU's habit of dumbing down their content to cater to the family-friendly target audience makes it less unique as time goes by. On one hand, I understand they do it because they know it guarantees success. On the other hand, the formula makes it very stale for people who want something different.

[thecolorsblend]

I've often wondered what a proper Tomb Of Dracula adaptation might be like. We'll never know because Blade seems to be the only character most people care about. But it's fine to think about anyway.

So, Blade is coming to the MCU. Yay? At this point, what doesn't Marvel have the rights to anymore? Venom is the only thing I can think of.

[Silver Nemesis]

It seems Marvel has dropped the troubled Blade reboot from their release schedule.

Meanwhile the real Blade returned earlier this year and grossed over a billion dollars.

Snipes's Blade is arguably the most iconic and definitive iteration of the character. Even more so than the original Tomb of Dracula version.  The modern comic book Blade and every subsequent screen version have been modelled on him. They should just make a Midnight Sons movie with Snipes leading the team. It's not rocket science.