The development of Blade has been a mess so far. Since the Marvel film was announced back in 2019, the project has reportedly gone through five writers and two directors. Pre-production issues are nothing new; however, the quality of Marvel’s content has been slipping recently. Audiences are nervous that the Blade film featuring two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is going to turn out terribly.
On the flip side, the fact that Marvel, Kevin Feige, and Ali have identified the issues with the script before it went into production is a good thing. Script rewrites aren’t uncommon, so it’s too early to push the panic button since its clear that Ali and Feige are just trying to make sure that they have a quality script in hand. There are some issues that the script needs to avoid so it can be in tip-top shape once it finally heads into the production phase.
Do Not Focus On The Rated-R Aspects Of The Film
Kevin Feige made it clear several years back that there was no chance that Blade would be a rated-R film. This is a mistake for multiple reasons. Blade is a vampire who deals with plenty of other vampires. Blood and death are synonymous with vampire films in general. Not doing a rated-R feature hinders how the writers can truly capture the uniqueness of the character’s world and the various villains that inhabit it.
A mature R-rating doesn’t automatically mean that the quality of the script will be top-notch, however. Guillermo del Toro brilliantly wrote and directed Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Both films were able to adjust to the PG-13 setting pretty well. The R-rated reboot featuring David Harbour is considered one of the worst superhero films ever made. The mature rating can enhance a character’s personality and world; Deadpool works so well because the character uses the mature themes to its full advantage creatively. Deadpool is a psychopath who kills people for a living. What makes him special is that his character does and says outrageous things that no other hero in films has done so far.
Despite the clear enhancement that Logan and Deadpool had in going to a mature rating, the story should be the most important thing first. Going back to the rebooted Hellboy, that film took advantage of the rated-R aspects more often than not, but in turn, it hindered the story from reaching its full potential because the writers were more focused on bloody spectacle. It doesn’t matter if Blade is PG-13 or rated R, if the story doesn’t have a compelling and multi-layered plot then the film will suck regardless.
Turn Blade Into A Feminist Film
It would be cool if Blade had strong female characters within it. A woman like Lilith Drake – the daughter of Dracula – would be a great addition to the film’s lore. However, the variety of reports about the previous scripts is quite alarming. At one point, Blade was a supporting character in a female-led film that had important messaging within the script. Those scripts have been trashed thankfully, but it’s nerve-wracking to hear how Blade was also sidelined in his film.
The demographic towards Blade skews towards males. In fact, the entire MCU heavily skews towards men. This isn’t to say that women shouldn’t have prominent characters within the Marvel brand, but shoving feminist themes into a Blade film is a mistake. Blade has never been a mark in politics. He’s a day vampire who battles other vampires and supervillains. This film just needs to be fun and not focus on politics. Audiences are simply tired of being lectured about real-world problems and it’s effectively hurt the quality of some of Marvel’s shows and movies.
The Desperate Need To Tie Blade Into The Entire Marvel Cinematic Universe
Blade doesn’t need to be in the MCU. Granted, Marvel is likely rebooting this franchise because Kevin Feige wants to incorporate Blade into the current MCU. However, not every single Marvel property needs to be tied to the current scope of the MCU. Blade is such a unique character and he might be neutered to fit the family-friendly image of the Marvel brand. The Batman and Joker have proven that you don’t need a shared universe to make a ton of money at the box office.
If Blade just doesn’t fit into the current MCU then Kevin Feige would be better off making it a standalone feature. If Feige and the writers can smoothly include Blade’s character in the MCU without sacrificing the core elements that made him iconic, then putting Blade into the MCU should be welcomed.
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