The film rights to the fan-favorite Blade character reverted back to Marvel Studios way back in 2012, but Kevin Feige sat on those rights for years before doing something about it. Finally, at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced that it had begun preliminary work on aBladereboot set in the MCU. Back then, all that was revealed about the project was that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali had been cast as the iconic vampire slayer.
Over the past couple of years, as the project has come together, a few more details have emerged about the MCU’s newBlademovie.Screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who previously contributed episodes to HBO’s critically acclaimed follow-up toWatchmenand Hulu’s offbeat coming-of-age gemPEN15, is working on the script. Bassam Tariq, the former documentarian who helmedMogul Mowgli(which he co-wrote with star Riz Ahmed), is in the director’s chair. Filming is set to begin in October and the production will take the cast and crew across such shooting locations as Atlanta, New Orleans, and Morocco.
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InEternals’ post-credits scene, Ali’s Blade made his MCU debut with an uncredited off-screen cameo alongside Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman. Heintroduces the would-be Black Knight to the Ebony Bladeand asks him, “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” At this year’s SDCC, Marvel announced a release date forBlade. Ali’s first vamp-slaying solo movie is scheduled to hit theaters on November 3 next year. It’ll be released as a part of Phase Five, sandwiched betweenThe MarvelsandCaptain America: New World Order.
Movies About Bloodsuckers Need Blood
After all these tantalizing revelations about theBladereboot, one of the only things that haven’t been announced is whether or not the movie is aiming for an R rating. Every entry in the MCU to date has been rated PG-13, including the recent horror-tinged outingDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the only upcoming MCU movieconfirmed to be R-ratedisDeadpool 3. But just because Feige hasn’t confirmed thatBladewill be rated R, it doesn’t mean it won’t be. He hasn’t confirmed it’ll be rated PG-13, either. There would be both pros and cons to pursuing an R rating with theBladereboot.
Deadpool isn’t the only Marvel character whose powers and personality have an R-rated sensibility. From Wolverine to the Punisher, plenty of iconic Marvel characters don’t suit the tame, family-friendly trappings of the PG-13 label. Blade the vampire hunter is one of them. A movie about bloodsuckers needs blood. Fans of vampiric mythology would be bitterly disappointed by a bloodless vampire movie. Plenty of fiercely effective PG-13 horror films (The Others,A Quiet Place,Drag Me to Hell) have proven that entries in this genre don’t necessarily need gore to terrify their audience. ButBlade slaughters the undead, so his movies do need gore.
R-Rated Comic Book Movies Are Still Risky
For a while, with the rare exception, R-rated comic book movies were considered too risky for the major Hollywood studios to even try making one. But sinceDeadpool’s unexpected success proved they can work spectacularly, they’ve become a lot more common. Some of these R-rated comic book films have beenbig hits, likeLoganandJoker, but they’re still risky. The box office disappointments ofBirds of PreyandThe Suicide Squadhave proven that R-rated superhero movies still aren’t a guaranteed home run.
All three ofWesley Snipes’ R-ratedBlademovieswere successful at the box office. None of them were runaway billion-dollar hits like Marvel Studios is used to, but not every film in the MCU has to be a mega-scale tentpole. There’s room for mid-range movies exploring grislier genre material.Bladedoesn’t need a $200 million price-tag to succeed. Snipes’Blademovies all had modest eight-figure budgets and they still delivered on the spectacle.
The PG-13 Boundaries Can Be A Good Thing
Going for a PG-13 rating as opposed to an R rating would present three clear advantages for the MCU’sBladefranchise (aside from the obvious financial benefit of getting the movies in front of more eyes). It would make Blade easier tointegrate into the wider Avengers ensemble, assuming he’s being primed for a role alongside the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes inSecret Wars. Plus, the boundaries of the PG-13 rating might force the filmmakers to get more creative with their scares. Without the freedom allowed by the more lenient R rating, the producers ofBladewon’t be able to rely on cheap shock value with buckets of blood and guts.
Blade is one of the most awesome superheroes in the Marvel Comics canon. Above all, kids under the age of 17 deserve to enjoy his vampire-killing adventures on the big screen just as much as their older siblings and their parents, even if it means limiting the on-screen bloodshed. Whatever rating the MPAA assigns it,the MCU’sBladerebootwill be released on June 14, 2025.
