The Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of Blade has had a long, rough ride through the development process, and as of right now it doesn’t even have a director attached (Jeymes Samuel, a.k.a. The Bullitts, who previously directed the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and the Biblical dramedy The Book of Clarence, was recently rumored for the job, but he said there was no truth to the rumor). So there probably weren’t many Marvel fans who were expecting the movie to stick with its November 7, 2025 release date – and therefore, few will be surprised or disappointed to hear that Blade has indeed been bumped out of 2025. Deadline reports that Disney will be releasing 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands on November 7, 2025 instead of Marvel’s vampire slayer movie.

The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but we’ve passed the five year anniversary of that announcement, and there’s still no sign that Blade will be filming any time soon. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. We recently heard a rumor that Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she has said that she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project. Two directors, Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, have dropped out along the way.

As for Predator: Badlands, this one is coming our way from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, making him the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise. Trachtenberg crafted the story, which was then fleshed out into a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison.

According to a casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future.

The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister.

Super 8‘s Elle Fanning stars in the film, which went into production in New Zealand earlier this year.

What do you think of Predator: Badlands bumping Blade out of its November 2025 release date? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

While taking Blade off of their schedule, Disney revealed that they have scheduled three untitled Marvel movies for release on February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028.

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UPDATE: Jeymes Samuel has released a statement denying the World of Reel’s Blade report. Samuel wrote, “I don’t know where these rumors start, but I am not in talks to do Blade with Marvel. I love me the Daywalker tho, I cannot wait to watch that joint. Sidebar: When Blade 2 came out I prayed they would make: ‘WESLEY SNIPES/CHRISTOPHER LEE – BLADE III.’ It didn’t happen sadly.“

The original article follows:

The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but we’ve passed the five year anniversary of that announcement, and we still haven’t seen a new Blade movie. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. Now, World of Reel has shared a rumor that Blade might finally be on track to production, with a script in place that everyone is satisfied with and a potential new director: Jeymes Samuel, a.k.a. The Bullitts, who previously directed the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and the Biblical dramedy The Book of Clarence. Samuel has been developing an adaptation of the Boom! Studios comic book Irredeemable for Netflix, but if all goes well, it sounds like Blade could become his next project.

World of Reel reports: “A source tells me Jeymes Samuel met for the Blade directing job and impressed the Marvel brass. … An online rumor, kickstarted because Mahershala Ali followed Jordan Peele’s account on Instagram, had some fans excited by a potential Peele-directed Blade. As far as I’ve been told, Peele was never part of any talks with Marvel to helm Blade. … More good news. It does look as though the latest Blade draft, written by Eric Pearson, might have finally satisfied everyone involved. Pearson is the sixth writer to have taken a crack at the script after Michael Green, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Michael Starrbury, Beau DeMayo, and Nic Pizzolatto. The film was originally set in the 1920s, but will now take place in the present day.“

Director Yann Demange was attached to direct Blade for a while, and confirmed last November that the film will be rated R. Demange recently stepped away from the project, but it sounds like the movie will be rated R even without Demange at the helm. He was the second director to sign on for Blade and then drop it, following in the footsteps of Bassam Tariq. Will Samuel be the one to replace him?

We recently heard a rumor that Mahershala Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she has said that she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project.

What do you think of the idea that Jeymes Samuel could be the director of Blade? Have you seen The Harder They Fall and/or The Book of Clarence? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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There’s just something inherently creepy about dolls, and filmmakers have had a lot of fun over the decades crafting horror stories around that creepiness. Audiences clearly love to see it, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many creepy / killer doll movies out there. So to celebrate this sub-genre, we decided to put together a list of some of the all-time best killer dolls. Not killer doll movies, but specific dolls. Here is our list of the Top 10 Killer Dolls!

ANNABELLE (THE CONJURING UNIVERSE)

This is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” list entry if there ever was one. If we don’t include Annabelle – who scared people so badly in the opening scene of The Conjuring, she got her own spinoff franchise – there will be a lot of fans asking, “How could you leave Annabelle off a top 10 doll list?” If we do include her, genre fans will also point out that Annabelle doesn’t actually kill anybody. It’s the demon she hangs out with that’s the problem. But she is so popular, we’re forced to include her anyway. She may not walk around slashing up victims with a knife, but when she’s around, people are still in mortal danger.

DOLLY DEAREST (1991)

Sure, Dolly Dearest is a blatant Child’s Play ripoff… but it has such an an oppressively dark tone and features evil dolls (inhabited by an evil force called the Sanzia devil child) that are so ugly and creepy, that I found Dolly Dearest too unnerving to sit through when I was a kid. Despite the fact that I was already a Chucky fan by the time I tried to watch this one. So this little knife-wielding knockoff earns a place on the list.

DUMMY (TRILOQUIST – 2008)

Coming to us from director Mark Jones, the director of the original Leprechaun (and the less popular Rumpelstiltskin), Triloquist is an awful movie… but it’s one of those movies that is so bad, it can be highly entertaining to watch once or twice, if you’re in the right mindset. The small killer here is Dummy, a wooden ventriloquist dummy who seems to have somehow been imbued with a life of his own… and not only is he homicidal, he’s also quite horny. He hits the road with the trashy, bloodthirsty Angelina and the developmentally disabled Norbert for a cross-country killing spree, and Jones was clearly endeavoring to make the movie as sleazy and appalling as possible, packing it with wildly inappropriate dialogue. Watching Triloquist is quite an experience.

PIN (1988)

Technically, the life-size anatomy dummy Pin is not a killer. He’s just an inanimate object. But that doesn’t keep him from being an intensely creepy presence throughout the film. Terry O’Quinn plays Dr. Linden, who uses ventriloquism to have the dummy interact with young patients and even teach his own son and daughter life lessons. This is a terrible idea, because it convinces the son that Pin is a living being – especially after he witnesses his father’s nurse using the dummy as a sex toy. That also gives him sexual hang-ups, which leads to him taking an unhealthy interest in his sister’s sex life. Before you know it, people are getting killed. Pin himself isn’t the killer, but he’s at the heart of a well-made, twisted psychological thriller.

FATS (MAGIC – 1978)

I’ll put Fats back-to-back with Pin because they’re sort of in the same boat. Based on a novel by legendary screenwriter William Goldman and directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, Magic is a psychological thriller that stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as struggling magician Corky, who has a tumultuous relationship with his ventriloquist dummy Fats. Is Fats the mean, possessed, potentially homicidal little bastard he appears to be, or is Corky insane? Well, check the movie out and see what you think.

M3GAN (2023)

Like Annabelle, M3GAN is a James Wan production – but while the Annabelle doll isn’t actually a killer, there’s no confusion over whether or not the AI-powered robot doll M3GAN is a killer. She’s supposed to be a little girl’s best friend, but she’s not wired quite right, turning her protectiveness into a homicidal rampage. M3GAN can do the latest trendy TikTok dance to entertain the youngsters, then she racks up a body count when she’s not showing off her moves. She’s getting a sequel now and we’re looking forward to seeing the carnage she’ll cause in M3GAN 2.0.

BABY OOPSY (DEMONIC TOYS FRANCHISE)

I haven’t seen Imaginary as of this writing, but I’ve seen images of that teddy bear Chauncey, and I’ve also seen images of Chauncey where he has transformed into a hulking beast. It’s a familiar look, because I’ve seen this exact same thing done before, in the 1992 Full Moon classic Demonic Toys! That film features a teddy bear called Grizzly Teddy, which also turns into a large monster. He’s awesome, but the star of the Demonic Toys franchise – and the only toy that would be referred to as a doll – is Baby Oopsy, who has gone on to cause all sorts of trouble over the course of several movies.

ZUNI DOLL (TRILOGY OF TERROR – 1975)

There are three horror tales packed into the anthology Trilogy of Terror (thus the title), each one directed by Dan Curtis and based on a story by Richard Matheson. You have to wait until the third segment to be introduced to the tiny terror known as He Who Kills… but it’s worth the wait. This little guy is a total maniac who relentlessly pursues a young woman played by Karen Black throughout her apartment. This part of the movie proved to be so popular, the Zuni doll was brought back for a sequel story in Trilogy of Terror II twenty-one years later.

BLADE (PUPPET MASTER FRANCHISE)

There are a whole lot of killer dolls in the Puppet Master franchise, and each one of them has their adoring fans – which is why this is the biggest franchise on this list, currently standing strong at fifteen entries (and a sixteenth in development). But the most popular puppet of the bunch is Blade, who has a knife for one hand and a hook for the other. In some movies he’s a villain, in others he’s a hero, it all depends on who his master is at the time. He has slashed his way through humans (including a number of Nazis), battled tiny demons, and even faced off with the Demonic Toys. He usually has some puppet pals backing him up, but a few years ago, he even got a solo movie.

CHUCKY (CHILD’S PLAY FRANCHISE)

There are other popular killer dolls out there, but it’s not likely that any are ever going to surpass the popularity of Chucky… and, of course, we’re talking about the original Chucky here, although the Child’s Play remake was surprisingly good. A combination of impressive special effects, wild stories concocted by Don Mancini, and incredible vocal performances from Brad Dourif have made Chucky an iconic character we’ve been fascinated to watch through several feature films and now multiple seasons of a TV series as well.

HONORABLE MENTION: CLOWN DOLL (POLTERGEIST – 1982)

We had to include this one as an honorable mention. The Clown Doll doesn’t kill anyone; in fact, no one is killed in Poltergeist… but the Clown Doll certainly made an attempt to kill little Robbie, and it’s been scaring the hell out of viewers for over 40 years now.

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In the age we live in now, comic book movies are mostly big, bloated, blockbusters with big budget bullshit, and while there are some exceptions to that statement these days, back in the late 90s- you’d bever find a comic book film with a budget in the hundreds of millions. These kinds of films were dark horses in Hollywood with unproven success to secure studio backing. Bloated, bullshit, blockbusters…were not an option. Now, there’s probably no need for me to explain the early days of Marvel movies and the constant state of financial decay that the company was in prior to the inception of the MCU. But suffice it to say that Marvel, the juggernaut movie studio who now owns their own corner of the industry, was once so broke that they sold off the rights to some of their characters and IP to stay afloat. This is how we got things like the Spider-Man films from Sony, the Punisher movie from Artisan, and of course the X-Men saga from Fox. Included in that offload of IP was Blade, which was sold to New Line Cinema. A movie that many did not know was even tied to the otherwise colorful and bright Marvel brand. And that, in the 90s, was actually to the film’s benefit.

Blade is a half-human and half-vampire hybrid whose mother was attacked by a vampire during childbirth. This gives Blade the unique cocktail of DNA which gives him all the strengths of these blood-sucking cultists, but none of the weaknesses. It’s called being a “daywalker” in this movie. So, Blade’s mission in life is to use his curse in order to hunt and destroy any creature he can find. He achieves this with the help of his trusty mentor, Whistler (played by Kris Kristofferson) who adopted Blade as a teenager and trained him in combat. Whistler is Blade’s “guy in the chair” who provides technical savvy, companionship, and a special serum that Blade injects to keep him from craving blood. Remember, he is a vampire after all, folks.

Now, seeing as this movie is almost 30 years old, and this IS a revisited video- it’s safe to assume that you’ve already seen this movie. And personally, I’m not interested in recapping the entire plot and calling it a day. Instead, let’s just get to the good stuff. How does this movie hold up? And what it makes it great after all these years? Oh, and also- we’re definitely gonna spoil some Deadpool & Wolverine somewhere in this video so… I’ll warn you when we get to it. Let’s go!

First off, let’s talk about this movie’s legendary opening sequence. The movie opens on what appears to be an incredibly stylized late 90s rave- complete with shiny leather, edgy music, sexiness, debauchery, and… oh yeah, BLOOD RAINING FROM THE CEILING SPRINKLERS! That’s right dudes, this opening scene is a mass killing in a vampire rave. This is so 90s but in the smoothest and most satisfying way. The blue tones of the lighting and color grading really pop against the deep, thick red of the corn syrup being sprayed all over the dance floor and folks, I’m so here for it.

The villain of the piece is a ruthless and reckless vampire with something to prove called Deacon Frost (played by Stephen Dorff). This guy is basically seeking to either capture Blade and use his hybrid blood to push the evolutionary scale of vampires to the next level- OR collab with him so that he doesn’t have to use force. Blade prefers using force, so we now have our main conflict. This movie’s performances are not only good, but I think it gets undersold just how IMPORTANT these actors and their commitment to the roles were to the ultimate success of this movie. It’s important to remember that while Marvel films are commonplace household movies today, Blade was made at a time when superhero films were deeply uncool, and thus, unprofitable. Director Stephen Norrington was already facing slim odds of a commercial success when taking on this project, but thanks to the cast and crew taking the project so seriously, and the actors truly committing the absurdity of it all, and delivering serious and grounded performances- is what makes this movie special.

Wesley Snipes as Blade is really one of those all time superhero castings that we put up there with Hugh Jackman as Wolvrine or RDJ as Iron Man. Snipes gives Blade a hip and cool edge by cracking the occasional joke, reacting with his extremely expressive orange eyes, and even throwing some signature one-liners into the mix from time-to-time.

While there are one or two moments of comic relief in the film, this movie ultimately plays it completely straight and takes what it’s doing seriously. Dorff as Deacon Frost is a great example of hamming it up while selling the stakes of the scene. He chews pretty much the entire set here, but it’s not wasted on big monologues and cheesy exposition. Instead, he lets his demeanor and expressions show you how evil and unpredictable he is, while always delivering lines as if he’s been up all-night practicing in the mirror and thinking of nothing other than his mission. And I mean all of this, as a compliment. Frost get’s a bad wrap due to the film’s dated CGI which was heavily relied on for the ending. Why does Frost take the hit? Well, he’s the guy who turns into a pixelated, rubbery disaster in the final act.

Admittedly, this does not look as polished as it would today- but putting that aside. Look at the incredible fight choreography and immaculate cinematography of the action in this movie.

While the action and carnage is fun, it’s also only part of this very delicious pie. The dynamic that Blade has with the supporting cast is also fun on the re-watch. Blade and Whistler have a father-son type relationship that adds a sweet layer to his character and leaves you gutted by his reaction to Whistler’s (almost) death scene. To add another layer to Blade’s character is his dynamic with Karen, a human that wants to help (and maybe bone) Blade. If Whistler makes Blade sweet, Karen makes him tough. Her involvement gives Blade a reason to stay sharp and be alert. See, while our hero has no problem going out at night to kick some vampire ass, he also feels the need to protect people. And with Karen being around, he’s contently looking out for her safety. It’s important to note that what makes Blade a great character goes beyond the obvious. Sure, the duster jacket, the ninja weapons (especially those katanas) and the shades and tattoos make him look cool. But his stoic attitude with small elements of humor, and most importantly humanity- that’s what makes Blade a GREAT character.

Behind the scenes, Norrington and Snipes would both eventually get sick of the franchise with Norrington passing the reigns for the next film to the modern master of macabre, Guillermo del Toro for a sequel that is just as much fun as this one. Snipes would appear in all three installments of the trilogy but reportedly would get more and more difficult to work with as the films went on. See, Snipes was so ingrained in the character of Blade that he would remain in character at all times making him seem unapproachable and unfriendly to everyone on set. This would lead to the films having diminishing returns and eventually fading out and being pruned to the void… UNTIL…

For those of you that loved this movie the way I do, you must have been just as stoked as I was to see Wesley Snipes enter the frame as Blade in Marvel’s latest multiverse outing- Deadpool & Wolverine. Seeing him whip out some blades and kick some asses was everything I needed to fill the Blade shaped hole in my heart- however, while I love that he was in the movie for a good chunk of it, and he did get plenty to do, I was disappointed by the re-hashed catchphrase and not-so-subtle wink at the camera and Mahershala Ali’s upcoming Blade film. It just didn’t feel like Blade in those moments.

But, regardless, this movie offers a bloody, violent, action-packed and well performed comic book story that is sure to scratch the vampire itch that you’re feeling right now.

Two previous episodes of Revisited can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!

The post Blade (1998) Revisited – Horror Movie Review appeared first on JoBlo.

A Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of the Blade property has been making its way through development hell for the last five years, and if / when the script for that project is ever figured out and the new Blade can go into production, Mahershala Ali will be taking over the title role… but Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds thinks Marvel should go in a different direction with the character. After the spoiler veil was lifted and Reynolds could acknowledge that Wesley Snipes makes an appearance as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine, returning to the role for the first time since his trilogy of Blade films wrapped up twenty years ago, the actor took to social media to call for Marvel to give Snipes’ Blade “a Logan-like send-off.” And he’s not letting his request get brushed aside. Last night, Reynolds again took to social media to push for a new Blade movie starring Wesley Snipes.

This time, Reynolds wrote, “The reaction when Wesley Snipes enters the movie is the most intense thing l’ve heard in a theater. People screaming with uninhibited joy and love is also the sound of a legacy. More Blade please. #DayWalker.” He later went back and edited his post to add a P.S.: “A Logan-style send off, specifically.“

Reynolds is stirring up a lot of fan support for the idea of a Blade sequel starring Wesley Snipes… which leaves one to wonder, what does Mahershala Ali think about this campaign? It has been said that he’s getting increasingly frustrated that they can’t get his Blade movie into production, now fans are pushing for an entirely different Blade project that he wouldn’t have the lead role in.

Snipes himself has shown support for the Blade reboot. He recently told Entertainment Weekly, “I shouted (Ali) out, told him he’s got all my blessings and support. I even referenced the fact that some of the challenges they’re facing now with the project, it shouldn’t be accredited to him. It’s not the actor’s fault. There’s a lot more that goes on with pulling this Blade stuff off. You need a lot of secret sauce to do the Blade thing, man. Good luck. You’re my man, though.“

Would you like to see Marvel greenlight a Wesley Snipes Blade send-off in place of or in addition to the Mahershala Ali reboot? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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The post Ryan Reynolds makes another push for a Wesley Snipes Blade sequel appeared first on JoBlo.

A Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of the Blade property has been making its way through development hell for the last five years, and if / when the script for that project is ever figured out and the new Blade can go into production, Mahershala Ali will be taking over the title role. While we wait to see how that situation is going to turn out, original Blade actor Wesley Snipes returned to the role – almost twenty years after the release of his last Blade movie, Blade: Trinity – for an appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, which is currently enjoying massive success at the box office. Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds has called for Marvel to give Snipes’ Blade a “Logan-like send off” movie… and someone who has a pitch for just such a project is Beau DeMayo, who has worked with Marvel as writer / showrunner of the first season of the Disney+ series X-Men ’97.

In response to a report on Reynolds’ post saying Snipes’ Blade should get a send off movie, DeMayo dropped his pitch on social media: “Vampire dystopia where they learned to daywalk and took over. Humans are cattle. Brother Voodoo, part of the human resistance, learns Blade was desiccated/entombed and resurrects him so they can hunt Varney and the Darkhold cult to wipe out all vampires. Treat it like Kurosawa.“

The idea of a vampire apocalypse was something that David S. Goyer, who wrote the Snipes Blade trilogy, toyed with when he was working on those films, but he never brought it to the screen. That could be a great set-up for a send off movie – and it’s fun that DeMayo would want to have the Brother Voodoo character in there, too.

With the Mahershala Ali Blade still in the works, chances of one last Wesley Snipes Blade movie actually getting made are probably slim to none, but it’s something cool to think about. It’s also unlikely that Beau DeMayo would get the job to write that Blade movie, if it were to happen, as Marvel chose to fire him from X-Men ’97 after the first season.

What do you think of Beau DeMayo’s Blade pitch? Would you like to see Wesley Snipes’ version of the character get a send off movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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By now, the cat has been out of the bag for some time, and many outlets and social media have talked about the Deadpool & Wolverine cameos casually out in the open, including the very stars in the film. So, now it is no secret that while Hugh Jackman’s return to the Wolverine character was all the buzz with the film, a big fan-pleasing reveal is Wesley Snipes donning the shades and fangs once again for the day-walking, vampire-hunter Blade. Snipes’ 1998 film was a milestone with the Marvel company and helped to keep the famous comic brand from going bankrupt.

Blade’s appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine alongside Elektra, Johnny Storm and Channing Tatum’s Gambit was a meta plot device about these characters either not being fully realized or getting the conclusions from their respective franchises. Although an MCU Blade has been in the works amid behind-the-scenes drama, ComicBook.com reports that Marvel Jesus Ryan Reynolds posted on social media calling for Snipes’ Blade to go out with one last hurrah. Reynolds posted,

There is no Fox Marvel Universe or MCU without Blade first creating a market. He’s Marvel Daddy. Please retweet for a Logan-like send off. #DeadpoolAndWolverine”

The appearance of Snipes was a welcomed surprise after his last outing, Blade: Trinity, was plagued by its own behind-the-scenes drama, which included stories of Reynolds and Snipes not getting along on set. Although Snipes has been supportive of Mahershala Ali’s reboot, he was still pleasantly surprised to get asked back to the character for this go-around. “I thought it didn’t make sense to me, but [when] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, ‘Okay, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about.’ He told me the idea… They said ‘yes’ and ‘it’s a go.’ ‘If you’re in, we’re in.’ Here we are.” Snipes found it to difficult to keep the cameo as secret, but he even managed to conceal his Deadpool & Wolverine involvement from his family. A bigger challenge was getting back into Blade shape. “I wasn’t Blade ready, man. I don’t walk around as Blade every day, you know what I mean? With a trench coat and shades and fangs in my mouth. We had to work out. We definitely had to get the body, and my biggest concern was being in condition enough to deal with whatever the action was. They didn’t really tell me what the action was going to be, so I prepared for whatever that was going to come. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do as much as I thought I would because the action movies are tough. They’re not easy at all by any means. About a month into it, I got the body right… and then, with the help of a little customized foam well placed in certain areas, it was all good to go, baby. Let’s ride!“

The post Ryan Reynolds calls for Marvel to give Wesley Snipes’ Blade a “Logan-like send off” appeared first on JoBlo.

Deadpool & Wolverine just broke records over its opening weekend, becoming the highest R-rated opening of all time both worldwide and domestic, drawing in more than $440 million at the global box office… but if you (like me) haven’t made it out to see the movie yet, you should be aware that there are SPOILERS ahead: as made public at the San Diego Comic-Con, Wesley Snipes makes a cameo in the film, reprising the role of Blade, a Marvel Comics character he hasn’t played since starring in a trilogy of Blade movies twenty-plus years ago. Now he has discussed his cameo with Entertainment Weekly, and we have some quotes below.

Snipes told EW that he had accepted the fact that he was moving on from the Blade franchise, especially since Mahershala Ali has been cast to play the character in an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of the property (a project that has been in development for five years now). Snipes was “moving on from them, which is okay. I did three of them, and I thought they turned out pretty good. Not so bad… So we move on to other things, and bigger and better things, as well.” But then he received a text from Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds, saying, “I want to talk to you.”

“I thought it didn’t make sense to me, but [when] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, ‘Okay, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about.’ He told me the idea… They said ‘yes’ and ‘it’s a go.’ ‘If you’re in, we’re in.’ Here we are.” Snipes found it to difficult to keep the cameo as secret, but he even managed to conceal his Deadpool & Wolverine involvement from his family. A bigger challenge was getting back into Blade shape. “I wasn’t Blade ready, man. I don’t walk around as Blade every day, you know what I mean? With a trench coat and shades and fangs in my mouth. We had to work out. We definitely had to get the body, and my biggest concern was being in condition enough to deal with whatever the action was. They didn’t really tell me what the action was going to be, so I prepared for whatever that was going to come. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do as much as I thought I would because the action movies are tough. They’re not easy at all by any means. About a month into it, I got the body right… and then, with the help of a little customized foam well placed in certain areas, it was all good to go, baby. Let’s ride!“

Snipes did get to participate in an action sequence – which was shot in the freezing cold during the winter in Europe, so that wasn’t pleasant. He enjoyed the overall experience, though, and had praise for Reynolds, who co-starred in Blade: Trinity with him twenty years ago. “Some of the things he did back in those days (on Blade: Trinity), that’s not really my humor. I’m not tuned in that way. So I thought, ‘Well, it’s a little over the top for me.’ But seeing him do it in this context [in Deadpool & Wolverine] made a lot of sense. And seeing him do it and do it well, Ryan does something that most people can’t do. He’s unique in that way, and he’s found a fantastic niche for himself doing what he does. Deadpool is Ryan Reynolds all day long. So it was enjoyable. It was enjoyable to work with him. It was enjoyable to revisit.“

All that said, Snipes still supports the casting of Ali in the Blade reboot. “I shouted him out, told him he’s got all my blessings and support. I even referenced the fact that some of the challenges they’re facing now with the project, it shouldn’t be accredited to him. It’s not the actor’s fault. There’s a lot more that goes on with pulling this Blade stuff off. You need a lot of secret sauce to do the Blade thing, man. Good luck. You’re my man, though.“

What do you think of Wesley Snipes making a cameo as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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The fact that there was going to be a Blade reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Mashershala Ali in the title role, came as a huge surprise when the announcement was made at the San Diego Comic-Con back in July of 2019… but now we’ve reached the five year anniversary of that announcement, and we still haven’t seen a new Blade movie. The closest we’ve gotten is Ali making a vocal cameo as the character at the end of Eternals back in 2021. Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige is currently doing the press rounds for the latest addition to the MCU, Deadpool & Wolverine, and while speaking with BlackTreeTV, Feige said they’re taking their time on this project to make sure they’re making the right Blade movie.

Feige was asked, “Now that Deadpool & Wolverine is going R-rated, does it change how you can make Blade (at Disney), as opposed to when you first decided to start developing it?” He answered, “I think that’s right. I mean, for the last few years as we’ve been trying to crack that movie, the most important thing for us is not rushing it and making sure we are making the right Blade movie. Because there were some great Blade movies years ago, and they were all rated R. So I think that’s, like Deadpool, inherent with the character of Blade.“

Director Yann Demange was attached to direct Blade for a while, and confirmed last November that the film will be rated R. Demange recently stepped away from the project, but it sounds like the movie will be rated R even without Demange at the helm. He was the second director to sign on for Blade and then drop it, following in the footsteps of Bassam Tariq. We’re still waiting to hear who’s going to replace Demange.

We recently heard a rumor that Mahershala Ali is getting “increasingly frustrated” with the long development process on this one. Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre have been cast alongside Ali as the years have gone by, but are no longer involved, as their characters have apparently been written out. Co-star Mia Goth, who is rumored to be playing the villainous Lilith, is still attached – and she’s fine with the delays, because it shows that Marvel really cares about the project.

What do you think of Marvel taking so long to figure out the new Blade movie? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

The post Marvel is taking their time to make sure they’re making the right Blade movie appeared first on JoBlo.

Getting the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the point where it is today was like skating uphill. Sure, pretty much every one of them is going to put butts in movie theater seats – and many will even show up in costume or their favorite faux-vintage tee – but it wasn’t always a guarantee. Iron Man was a monumental risk in practically every front that, thankfully for the studio, paid off in dividends. But current Marvel head Kevin Feige doesn’t just look to Iron Man as the launching point but rather some perhaps unexpected choices.

Speaking with Deadline, Kevin Feige gave credit to a pair of Marvel movies that came before he stepped into his role in 2007, the year before Iron Man hit theaters. “I said for a long time that the one-two punch for Marvel, pre-dating me, was Blade and then X-Men. Blade was a character that nobody knew from the comics, or very few people knew. It wasn’t advertised as being from Marvel Comics. X-Men was the No. 1 bestselling comic for the 15 years before the movie came out.”

Feige added that Marvel properties like Blade ($131 million worldwide) and X-Men (just under $300 million worldwide and one of the highest-grossing of 2000) gave both himself and the studio confidence that there was so much more to what could work on the big screen than he imagined. “Both of them did extremely well, and that instilled in us the notion that it is less about how many issues did you sell or how famous was the animated show or the live-action series in the ’70s, but how engaging can you make the character, and how much of a new experience of a world can you bring to cinemas with that character.”

Of course, the studio has a lot on their docket right now, but Feige and company are still all-on on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Phase Six – which officially launches with this month’s Deadpool & Wolverine – will even feature a revisition of the Blade character, while the X-Men will make their return with writer Michael Lesslie tapped to pen the screenplay. Hopefully we get some updates – however minor – on both at this year’s SDCC, where Marvel will be taking over Hall H.

Do you think Blade and X-Men deserve more credit for the comic book movie boom? If not, does it belong to Iron Man or another flick?

The post Kevin Feige credits Blade & X-Men for MCU birth appeared first on JoBlo.