Since its announcement at Comic-Con in 2019, there hasn't been much news about Marvel's upcoming Blade reboot. The only real pieces of news revealed have been the casting of Mahershala Ali as Blade, the attachment of director Bassam Tariq and the recent announcement that Delroy Lindo is joining the cast. The synopsis of the movie may have been leaked prematurely online and seems to suggest it will be sticking close to the original comic book source material. Originally slated for a 2022 release, the movie has yet to enter production and is looking closer to a 2023/2024 release.
The original film, released in 1998, starred Wesley Snipes as the titular Blade, a half-vampire half-human vampire hunter known as a 'Daywalker'. While Blade can traverse the world in the daylight, he is susceptible to the same hunger for blood as full vampires. Blade uses a serum to control his hunger but he keeps needing a stronger and stronger dose in more frequent intervals to satiate his bloodlust. With superhuman strength and speed, Blade uses his gifts to fight vampires and other monsters.
The first Blade movie is a mix of martial arts action and horror, with gallons of blood and satisfying vampire kills. Blade was something new and fresh at the time, a niche Marvel hero getting his movie, that was rated R and had strong horror elements. There still isn't much to match it in the Marvel universe. Deadpool brought an R-rated action-comedy (albeit one not officially in the MCU) and the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Morbius both have the potential to bring more horror to Marvel. One thing fans can agree on is that the reboot has to remain R-rated to do justice to the source material.
Watching the original films now, especially the first, they are very much a product of their time. The first film featured the iconic blood disco scene, complete with 90's rave music. Something the reboot would do well to steer clear of is trying to recreate that scene. The reboot needs to stamp its personality on the property instead of trying to recapture the feeling of the original. Wesley Snipes was iconic as Blade, Mahershala Ali should carve out his version of the character if Marvel wants the franchise to continue anew.
Marvel learned with the original movies that a Black superhero works on screen, then seemingly forgot until recent years with Luke Cage and the huge success of Black Panther. One of the most important things for Marvel to take from the original movies is that representation matters. In the comics, Blade's mentor was Jamal Afari, a role whitewashed and changed to the character of Abraham Whistler in the movies. With the addition of Delroy Lindo, many are speculating that he will be taking on the role of Afari.
The original trilogy also incorporated humor to great effect, Blade is a darkly humorous character, wisecracking Buffy style as he cuts down gangs of vampires with his sword. The issues with the trilogy came when they leaned too heavily into the humor, with the third installment adding the character of Hannibal King. Played by Ryan Reynolds, King was a fun addition but he did lean a little too heavily into the constant one-liners. He was almost a proto-Deadpool, which is all well and good but didn't fit as well in the world of Blade.
One interesting turn that the new film could potentially take is tying it into other Marvel properties. In the comics, Blade occasionally worked with the Defenders, all of whom have been established through their Netflix series. This could provide a great opportunity for the Defenders to make a comeback or at least maintain their presence in the MCU. There is also definitely potential for Blade to come up against Morbius with the standalone Morbius feature releasing on January 22nd, 2022. The two anti-heroes came up against each other in the comics on several occasions so it would make sense for them to clash on the big screen. In fact, with the Blade reboot originally scheduled for a 2022 release, that may have been the intention all along.
When it comes down to it, the original Blade trilogy was a huge success. The combination of the characters, story, and blood-drenched action created a winning formula that spawned an iconic role for Wesley Snipes. The movies penetrated pop culture completely, bringing the character of Blade into the spotlight alongside bigger Marvel names. The only way for the reboot to succeed is to create an original take on the character. Simply updating the setting but clinging to the past iteration of the character won't work because he is so beloved. To make Blade a success, Marvel has to lean into the fresh blood instead of dwelling on the past. They can probably keep the house music soundtracks though.