The Marvel Cinematic Universe has pulled off a number of impressive feats of storytelling, but the massive multimedia franchise hasn't made many delves into different genres. The comics represent a greater variety of stories, tones and characters, but as they join the on-screen adaptation, they should enrich the larger project.
Blade, the half-vampire vampire hunter, has been the star of some of Marvel's bloodier and more visceral comics over the years. He has been adapted to the screen in his own trilogy, to extremely mixed results, but his addition to the MCU could create an unrecognizable new corner of the franchise.
Blade was introduced to the Marvel Comics Universe in 1973 by iconic Marvel horror scribe Marv Wolfman. Alongside artist Gene Colan, Wolfman took over and popularized The Tomb of Dracula, which remains one of the best-received Marvel horror comics of the company's lifespan. The series began as a result of the infamous Comics Code Authority relaxing their restrictions on horror characters in 1971. The narrative follows a group of vampire hunters who seek to destroy Dracula, among other classic Universal monsters.
The series was an obvious step for Marvel Comics, thanks to a copyright quirk that landed most of Bram Stoker's work in the public domain. Dracula went on to become a supervillain throughout the Marvel Universe who faced off against a variety of heroes. The Tomb of Dracula originated the company's take on the classic vampire, along with Werewolf by Night and Blade.
Blade grew from his start as one of several armed vampire hunters and became the most popular of the bunch. He's much better known for showing up in other heroes' stories throughout the comics, but he's had a few solo runs over the years. His mother was slain by a vampire during his birth, passing on partial vampirism to the infant. Blade is a Daywalker, using his superhuman powers to hunt the creatures of the night.
Armed to the teeth with swords, wooden stakes, and martial arts skills, he's joined plenty of teams to fight monsters. His original nemesis is Deacon Frost, the vampire who killed his mom, but he's fought Dracula more than anyone else. His story is fairly simple, and his single-minded mission to kill vampires allows him to slot easily wherever he's needed. When it comes to the MCU, however, he'll be entering a very different culture.
Blade would be a fairly obscure character if it weren't for the trilogy of films that bare his name. Released in a time when superhero films were few and far between, Blade was a groundbreaking and underrated feature. Boasting a firm R-rating, Blade isn't something most could picture the MCU creating. It was brought to the screen through New Line Cinema, which was willing to take the character in a more horrific direction.
The first film was a blood-drenched ride with some solid monster design and plenty of stylized screams. The sequel was directed by beloved icon Guillermo del Toro and improved on the first in every way. Blade II is an underrated classic of superhero horror. The less said about Blade: Trinity the better, but two out of three ain't bad. It's hard to know how Marvel will handle the same character, and likely the same story, but it's easy to know how they should handle it.
The upcoming Blade film has kept details under wraps, little is known beyond a few names on the team. Mahershala Ali is starring, with a blessing from the previous star Wesley Snipes. Mogul Mowgli and These Birds Walk director Bassam Tariq is set to direct. Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who previously penned an episode of Watchmen and served as story editor on Hunters, is listed as screenwriter. The film is set to begin filming this summer, and that's just about all anyone can say about the project currently. The MCU is currently in Phase 4, Blade is set to come out as one of the final entries in the phase. Werewolf by Night and Marvel Zombies are set to premiere within the same period. With these three entering the franchise at the same time, it seems as if Marvel could finally bring their horror roots to the big screen.
It's hard to believe Marvel will take the plunge and make an R-rated film, but while the PG-13 can be restrictive, there are solid horror outings branded with that rating. Marvel needs to explore other genres of storytelling to keep things fresh. Superhero fatigue is a topic that gets brought up with every new MCU entry, and mixing it up with a radically different tone could solve that problem. Blade has found a way to cross superhero action with stylish horror on screen before, and thanks to del Toro, Marvel has an excellent blueprint to follow. Blade is the perfect entry in the MCU for the franchise to approach the wide world of horror cinema.