In Netflix, despite the break with Marvel Studios, it still has a place for the films of its characters and has just added the first trilogy to its catalog.
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, before Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man movies and before the original X-Men trilogy, there was Blade played by Wesley Snipes. Marvel’s vampire slayer kicked off the modern era of superhero movies in 1998, and now fans in the US can relive the trilogy again on Netflix (we don’t know when it will do so in Spain).
The Blade trilogy stars Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks, a half-vampire or ‘dhampir’ who has the strengths of a vampire but is dedicated to eliminating them. Snipes played the character in three films, Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) and Blade Trinity (2004). Blade was heralded as one of the first big hits of comic book movies and remains one of the few Marvel movies rated R thanks to its horror and violence.
After the film trilogy, the character had a television series, Blade: The Series with Sticky Fingazy in the role of the antihero, and appeared in animated series ultimate spider-man (2012).
Marvel still has space on Netflix
Netflix may have recently lost its Marvel heroes by moving Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Phunisher and Luke Cage to Disney+but the streaming service still has room for the heroes of the house of ideas, Spider-man: Homecoming, Venom or The Incredible Hulk can still be viewed on the streaming service.
Although the rights of the character of Blade returned to Marvel Studios, the distribution rights of the trilogy do not belong to them, being property of New Line Cinema, in Spain it was Aurum, the current eOne who distributed it.
reboot announced
In 2019, it was announced that the iconic vampire slayer would return in a new film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Mahershala Ali. (Alita: Battle Angel, Luke Cage) being cast as the lead and actors like Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have since signed on (with the multiverse up and running and with Marvel/Netflix characters, will Blade be a variant of the character Ali played in Luke Cage?).
The new Blade movie is still in production, but the arrival of the character was already noted at the end of the Eternalsand there are rumors that we could see it in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
The character has a rich history in comics, particularly with Marvel’s main vampire Morbius, who just released his own film adaptation from Sony with Jared Leto playing the Living Vampire, and their meeting seems difficult at the moment, unless that an agreement is reached between Marvel Studios and Sony like the one that was reached with Spider-man.
As for Blade at the moment, what seems most likely is that Marvel Studios is preparing for an adaptation of children of midnighta supernatural team of heroes that includes Moon Knight (already introduced), Ghost Rider, and Blade.
Have you seen the Blade trilogy? What delivery is your favorite?