One of 'Blade's Crew Members Just Explained What the Reboot Would've Been and Now I Want It More Than Ever -

Back in 2019, I was able to get into Hall H for Marvel Studios’ panel and was utterly gobsmacked when Mahershala Ali was announced as Blade. Ali was becoming a familiar face thanks to his work on Moonlight and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Blade is one of my all-time favorite Marvel characters. It seemed like a match made in heaven…yet Blade has been stuck in development hell for six years. Multiple directors, writers, and cast members boarded and departed Blade, but the details of this new take on the Daywalker remained under wraps…until now.

Costume designer Ruth E. Carter was a guest on the John Campea Show, where she revealed that she was hired to work on the costumes for Blade. Carter also said that Blade was meant to be a period piece set in the 1920s: “I was prepping Blade for Marvel, and it was a 1920s Blade story, and it got shut down because of the writers’ strike and the actors’ strike. I was just in limbo, having done a lot of research for this period piece about a vampire,” Carter’s comments only make me want to see Blade hit the big screen, even if it has to go through a few changes.

Doing a Period Piece for ‘Blade’ Would Dig Into a Tragic Element of the Character

Doing a film set in the past might seem like an unorthodox approach to Blade, but it plays into the tragic underpinnings of his half-vampire nature. He often struggles with his vampiric impulses to drink blood, but he’s also gained a healing factor, and with it, slowed down aging. I believe the right filmmaker could showcase how Blade’s battle against vampires has stretched over the decades and even explore how difficult it is for him to make friends or family. What happens when he has to watch his loved ones get older while he stays roughly the same age, or they fall victim to a vampire? Blade could have also touched upon heavier themes given its period setting. Delroy Lindo, who was set to star in Blade, said the character he was meant to play drew inspiration from activist Marcus Garvey.

Ruth E. Carter’s reveal of Blade as a period piece also highlights a major elephant in the room, and I think it needs to be discussed: the idea of a 1920s horror film involving vampires is the same setup as Sinners. Ryan Coogler‘s horror epic ignited a major bidding war when it was first announced, with Warner Bros. winning that war (and currently reaping the rewards). Another major parallel is the fact that Carter also served as a costume designer on Sinners, meaning that if Blade does get to the silver screen, its story will have to be heavily reworked. Thankfully, there’s another angle Blade could take, and it involves the original Blade trilogy.

The ‘Blade’ Reboot Should Tackle an Abandoned Idea From ‘Blade: Trinity’

During a set visit to Blade: Trinity, David S. Goyer revealed his initial plans for the Daywalker’s third outing. Blade: Trinity was originally slated to take place in the far future, with vampires becoming the dominant species on Earth. Blade would continue to be a thorn in the vampires’ side due to his slow aging, and had to deal with a planet shrouded in eternal night. Goyer would eventually pivot to a different story involving Dracula, but the idea of a post-apocalyptic Blade story is way too good to pass up.

It’s a fresh take on the Blade mythos, and it flips the script: Blade was often feared by vampires, but having a story where they outnumber him is ripe with potential. It could also let Marvel Studios explore the post-apocalyptic genre – the idea was briefly flirted with in Deadpool & Wolverine (which features the original Blade, Wesley Snipes), but an entire movie set in a futuristic landscape would be a truly unexpected leap forward for the MCU.

‘Blade’ Is in a Creative Flux, but One MCU Movie Could Clear Its Path to Production

If Marvel Studios wants a truly fresh start for Blade, it could depend on the aftermath of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have described their latest Avengers movies as “a new beginning” for the MCU, which all but hints at a reboot. Not only would that be a license to push Blade forward, but if it’s one of the first movies to come out of a potential reboot, it holds immense significance considering the original Blade is a major pillar of the modern superhero boom.

Fans won’t have to wait too long to see Mahershala Ali’s take on Blade, as a version of the Daywalker who inherited Moon Knight’s powers will play a major role in the upcoming Marvel Zombies miniseries. I just hope we get to see Ali’s Blade sooner rather than later.