After well over a year of rumors and speculation, Kevin Feige finally confirmed that not only will Deadpool 3 retain the R-rating of the first two installments, but the Merc with a Mouth’s next solo outing will be an official part of Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. Not only does this signal a shift into more mature territory for the family-friendly franchise, but it’s also raised expectations that the Blade reboot could follow suit.
After all, a vampire hunter who kills his enemies in highly inventive fashion with an array of unique weapons doesn’t seem particularly well-suited to a PG-13 environment, and skewing older in terms of audience would give Mahershala Ali more freedom to throw off the shackles and try and put his own spin on the character. Obviously, to a lot of people, Wesley Snipes will always be Blade, and that includes the man himself, and the idea of a horror-influenced supernatural comic book adaptation would inevitably be hindered by stuffing itself into a PG-13 box.
Fans are clearly in agreement, and they quickly took to social media in the hopes that Blade would follow the brand new MCU precedent for R-rated content set by Deadpool 3, as you can see from the reactions below.
Since Deadpool 3 is gonna be Rated R (Big W). Can we go ahead and make Blade Rated R and could y’all make Moon Knight a little edgier for me🤔
Please and Thank You pic.twitter.com/zTsvG6e6e9
— EternalsTalks (⊃∪ ∩⪽) (@EternalsTalks) January 11, 2021
Deadpool 3 and blade knowing they’re gonna be the best mcu R rated https://t.co/aUsr07rnZL
— paolo🎄 (@ikruig) January 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/AJCI282002/status/1348662281559707651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1348662281559707651%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fis-blade-rated-r-mcu-trending-twitter-topic-deadpool-3%2F
https://twitter.com/KhameekJ03/status/1348654408343695370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1348654408343695370%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fis-blade-rated-r-mcu-trending-twitter-topic-deadpool-3%2F
Me waiting for a confirmation that Blade will be Rated R in the MCU pic.twitter.com/bVMEmEPW93
— Roderick Hare (@roderick_hare) January 11, 2021
Yessssss I need a rated R Blade movie in my life 🙏🏻 https://t.co/NEkuoNgk1k
— Eric Burkey (@Burkey__12) January 11, 2021
If I'm Mahershala Ali & Oscar Isaac #DeadPool 3 being rated R is the best news possible. This means the possibility of Blade/Moon Knight being hardcore have risen! pic.twitter.com/uZGhdvN1ye
— ✪The CHOSEN 1️⃣✪ (@MarcusDigital) January 11, 2021
Feige recently promised that some major news surrounding the project is coming soon, and as well as the hopeful confirmation of such things as writers, a director, a supporting cast, a start for production and a locked in release date, Deadpool 3 has made it look a lot more likely that R-rated MCU movies could become a regular feature of the franchise’s output, and there are few better qualified candidates than Blade.
