Boy, having Blade coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe sure is a game changer. Having a half-human, half-vampire who is also a vampire hunter tear through the most popular monsters ever? Now that is a completely different vibe from what we usually see in the MCU. Don’t believe me? Just watch the old Blade movies with Wesley Snipes and you’ll see what I’m talking about. However, if you’re a fan of superhero movies, but you’re under the age of thirteen, you probably haven’t checked out those movies. Your parents won’t let you and for good reason.
The old Blade movies with Wesley Snipes are not your typical superhero movies. There’s pretty much every graphic and vulgar thing that makes a rated R movie rated R. They got graphic, bloody violence, naked people, and plenty of f-bombs to go around. Now if you know what kind of character Blade is, you’ll understand why those movies had the R rating. Blade was never a superhero like Superman or Captain America in the sense where he was all about mercy or honor. He’s pretty much the kind of hero who would never hold back when it comes to killing. But then again, he was killing vampires, so no big deal.
Now when Marvel announced their upcoming Blade movie with Mahershala Ali, I was excited, but also curious. We’re talking about one of the most violent superheroes ever joining a cinematic universe owned by Disney. Would Disney allow a character like Blade to go all out in his movie? I mean, the intense violence did work for Wesley Snipes’ Blade movies, after all, so why not do the same for Mahershala Ali’s movie?
Let’s back up for a minute. Who’s another popular Marvel hero who is known for being violent and using excessive profanity? The Merc with a Mouth, also known as Deadpool. We’ve been wanting to know for years what kind of movie Deadpool 3 would be under the Disney banner. I’ve written about this before, because let’s face it, we all wondered it. And if we’re being honest, Deadpool is a character that needs his movies to be rated R. Well, surprisingly enough, Kevin Feige confirmed that Deadpool 3 will be rated R not too long ago. And yes, our man Ryan Reynolds will be returning. Boy, what a time to be a Marvel fan.
So if Disney and Marvel will have an R-rated Deadpool movie, that means the upcoming Blade movie will be rated R as well, right? Okay, maybe not. Kevin Feige has heavily implied that Deadpool 3 could be the only R-rated movie in the MCU. According to him, he believes that the R rating was never necessary for the MCU to succeed and if they had to make that adjustment, they would certainly consider it. This is interesting news, especially sine he also acknowledged that Deadpool 3 is the movie that needs to be R-rated. Okay, at least he gets the Deadpool character, much like how Ryan Reynolds does.
Now let’s talk about the very likely possibility that the next Blade movie will be rated PG-13. I’m a bit conflicted about this, because I feel like Blade is the kind of character who needs the R-rated movie. At this point, we’re all used to the vibe of the Wesley Snipes movies, so anything less than that would just feel wrong. Basically, a PG-13 Blade movie would just sound odd, at least on paper. Could it actually work? I would initially say no to that, but after reading Kevin Feige’s statement, I began to reconsider.
What stood out to me the most about his statement about the future of possible R-rated MCU movies is something that I feel like not everyone fully realizes. How many R-rated movies does the MCU have under its belt? Not one. Kevin Feige correctly pointed out that this is because their movies never needed to be R-rated. It’s good that he points this out, because he’s not wrong. Not in the slightest. You can look at all the movies the MCU has given us over the years and think about what made them work. Was it the rating, or was it because they had good actors, writing, and directors working on them?
Now you don’t have to like every MCU movie. Heck, not all of them have been amazing, but even the worst ones were successes. So just think about the MCU movie you like the least and wonder if an R-rating would make it better. Would it? Probably not. Now, granted, those movies didn’t have a character like Blade as the main character, but they still managed to draw a crowd with PG-13 ratings. Now matter how many ways you look at it, Kevin Feige knows what he’s talking about. The MCU has never needed to have R-rated movies to be successful or good, for that matter.
In fact, the MCU movies have gotten dark before, even while be PG-13-rated. Look at what happened in Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos snapped his fingers and half the universe were reduced to ashes. Not to mention him snapping Loki’s neck and ripping the mind stone right from Vision’s head. There was no blood and no cursing needed to make it dark. The darkness came from the acts themselves and the way Thanos acted sealed it. The blood and cursing was not necessary.
Now, does that mean the Blade movie can be done the same? I mean, Blade is Blade and we like seeing him be violent and even cursing. Remember when Wesley Snipes’ Blade was shot in the hospital? Boy, that was hilarious. However, I think it is possible that the MCU Blade movie can work with being PG-13. I can take Blade without the swearing, but what about the blood? Well, that’s an easy solution. Graphic PG-13-rated violence works when its not being done to humans. And what is Blade killing? Vampires will die, and they will disintegrate, explode, turn to dust, however he does it. I mean, that’s what happened with the Wesley Snipes movies, and there was little blood.
So does the upcoming MCU Blade movie really need an R-rating? Honestly, it doesn’t. The MCU has succeeded with PG-13-rated movies all this time and I think they can continue that streak. Let’s just wait and see.
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