Blade holds a unique place in the modern Super Hero genre. Blade, as a character, was not overly popular in the comics. As such, he seemed like a was a strange choice to put into the movie universe. However, from Marvel's point of view, he was a relative unknown quantity that wouldn't hurt the company if the movie failed, unlike a flag ship character like Spiderman or Captain America. David S. Goyer and Stephen Norrington's revisioning of Blade updated the character, bringing him into the 90s modern culture where Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, The Crow and other pop culture influences drove it's visual aesthetic. A year later, The Matrix would come out, putting all the same visual queues into play with trench coats, black leather, unnecessary sunglasses at all times of the day making Corey Hart proud.
Blade received generally bad reviews from critics at the time of it's release, which isn't all that surprising since critics are almost never on the same page as movie-goers. It was a solid success with viewers because it tapped several genres: Super Hero, Anti-Hero, Martial Arts, Horror, Action. It kept the plot simple, the fights sharp, the violence hard. Generally, that's a good recipe to make back the money they spent on the film with some excess, especially when you include a known action star like Wesley Snipes; who was a safe bet in the 90s and had a good track record. Blade's success spawned a few sequels, a TV show and an anime, but eventually fell off the map as the market was saturated with comic movies that were more family friendly and accessible. Blade effectively ushered in the modern super-hero movie by showing that they don't have to be campy or childish, or even made for kids.
Blade succeeded where Dolph Lundgren's Punisher failed as a solid R comic book movie, well before Deadpool hit the screens. In fact, Blade Trinity introduced Ryan Reynolds to the character of Deadpool, allowing him to kick off a more than decade long campaign to get Deadpool made. Blade showed that you can make a serious Super Hero film, paving the way for Spiderman and The Dark Knight. Blade introduced the concept of blending over-the-top action and the supernatural, paving the way for film franchises like The Mummy, Underworld and Resident Evil. (although, to be fair, Buffy the Vampire Slayer did this before Blade. Blade introduced bullet time to popular movie culture for movies like the Matrix, and was adopted by a ridiculous number of movies afterwards. Blade had an incredible impact on movie culture, and will likely never truly be recognized for it.
That said, since the movie's release, conversation resurfaces constantly over whether or not he will be brought back into the MCU now that the rights have reverted back to Marvel. Wesley Snipes has claimed to have conversations with Kevin Feige. 2018 marks the 20 year anniversary of the movie that launched the modern comic movie revolution. Marvel being owned by Disney however, it seems unlikely we'll see Blade in a direct MCU adaptation. Not too mention, it's hard to imagine a character as dark as Blade interacting with the main MCU characters as they are currently known on screen. So, that begs the question: where would Blade fit in?
Netflix has a reputation as the hard outlet for Marvel's darker brands with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and The Punisher. ABC did a great job delivering a dark Ghost Rider, and there are rumors that Gabriel Luna will see a series on Netflix thanks to his impressive outing as the Spirit of Vengeance. In fact, Ghost Rider was passed to Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna) by the Good Samaritan, who looked suspiciously like the Johnny Blaze iteration of the Rider. Agents of SHIELD brought Ghost Rider on and also introduced the Darkhold, or the Book of Sins. These pieces put together allow Netflix, should the MCU agree, to put to screen a comic run called the Spirits of Vengeance; a 90s run that crossed paths with a litany of Marvel's darkest characters like Morbius, The Night Stalkers, Midnight Sons, Venom... and Doctor Strange? There's also a 2017 run that includes Blade, along with Satana and Hellstorm. It's almost like Marvel was setting the frame work to use Ghost Rider as a vehicle to introduce Blade. However, with Disney trying to launch it's own streaming service, I question whether they would be willing to extend more deals to Netflix.
Sony's Spiderman-less Venom-based universe in a lot of ways mirrors the original Blade movie. Largely ridiculed by critics, widely embraced by viewers. It's dark, violent and will shortly see Morbius the living vampire sharing their fledgling universe by way of Jared Leto. In one version of Blade's mythology, he and Spiderman go after Morbius and he became the day walker after being bitten by Morbius. It's unclear at this point if Marvel will include Venom into their overall universe because it would relinquish the creative control they've spent years re-acquiring. But, also, where the hell would Marvel use a character like Blade? He's not exactly kid friendly, nor would I want him to be. But, he would fit into a universe like the one recently set up with Tom Hardy's Venom-verse, which is going to be expanded with Silver & Black, Nightwatch and the more relevant Morbius, The Living Vampire.
With Disney's recent acquisition of Fox and it's properties; specifically the R-rated Deadpool, should Disney decide to use the Fox brand as an outlet for the adult related content, it's possible for Blade to show up to play in that sand box. Although, the typical characters he plays with aren't currently owned by Fox. Not to say that they can't make a good film without those play mates, he did fine on his own. It's just if Marvel plans to use him in the larger connected universe somehow, his main play mates are in other places. Although, if paired with Deadpool, the 4th wall jokes alone might be worth it. Especially if Wesley Snipes came back to play the character across from 'that cracker' Ryan Reynolds. Unfortunately, Ryan Reynolds stated he wouldn't work with Wesley Snipes again, so probably no dice there. And, more complicated, that would also retroactively bring in the New Line movies and create a dilemma since Ryan Reynolds also played Hannibal King. Not that Fox has ever given a shit about continuity before.
Less likely, is introducing a season or half-season arc on Agents of SHIELD through ABC. While I'm more inclined to believe that Blade's world works best in a solid R format, ABC's shown via the Ghost Rider arc that they can deliver an effective, brooding, dark story line. However, with the popularity of vampires dying off in recent years following the market OD via Twilight, True Blood, Penny Dreadful, The Vampire Diaries, and more recently The Originals, it might not make the most sense for a TV Show that still needs to worry about ratings. On the other side of the equation, Agents of SHIELD has dealt with aliens, Hydra, LMDs, the Darkhold, time travel, Inhumans, magic, so dipping into the paranormal for 6 to 7 episodes might be exactly what they need to keep things new for Coulson's team. Plus, it won't hurt ratings to have a reason to place a call to their only other known supernatural comrade, Robbie Reyes.
That begs the other question: Who would play Blade? Wesley Snipes continues to be his own press in this regard. If he is actually in talks, I don't necessarily have a problem with seeing Snipes dawn the shades again. The problem with that is, in Blade Trinity, they killed all of the vampires. So, what has Blade been doing? Would they follow the alternate ending with Werewolves? Or maybe he's succumbing to the vampire side of himself, making Blade the main antagonist for a movie or show? All seem unlikely to me. And with Marvel's track record recasting the Punisher and Spiderman for example, it seems more likely that they would have to reboot. Snipes himself points out the obvious issues with this, "There's a lot of pieces that have to come together. I mean wow. Who's that guy? And one that can overcome everybody's preconceived idea of who Blade is supposed to be. Skill wise, there's not a lot of guys out there that dance, that do martial arts, that act well and can have that Blade flavor." All true. Even the part about dancing for the more intricate footwork like we saw in Blade II. In fact, I can really only think of one name. Michael Jae White. Frankly, I think he would make an outstanding Blade. And, unlike Snipes, White has not shown any reservations about doing internet (Mortal Kombat) or television (Arrow), should the move get made to Netflix or even possibly ABC through the vehicle of Agents of SHIELD.
Regardless, I don't think the MCU is suffering without Blade's active presence in the universe. Marvel has the luxury of time to get his story right. He's not a pivotal character to the main universe, but if the MCU wants to expand their darker universe, he will be a strong addition in fleshing that out. As long as he's done correctly.
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