Cast your mind back to New York Comic Con when Kate Beckinsale, star of the long-running Underworld franchise, seemingly let slip that Marvel Studios were working on rebooting Blade, be that in the form of a feature film, a spinoff Netflix series, or a role in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. much like Ghost Rider before him.
Speculation spread across the interwebs like wildfire; after all, the character of Blade (AKA Eric Brooks) still resonates with comic book fans years after his last screen appearance, and after portraying the badass vampire hunter numerous times himself, Wesley Snipes continues to hint that there is something cooking over at Marvel.
Sadly though, nothing has come to fruition – not yet, anyway. Still, fans remain hopeful that Brooks can one day stage a comeback, possibly carving out his own place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the process – as an R-rated feature, perhaps? That’s a proposition that has been presented to head honcho Kevin Feige multiple times in the past – albeit without the R rating – and the producer has consistently stressed that a live-action Blade reboot isn’t off the table.
In fact, a few weeks back, the studio head went on record once more to declare that Blade “is a legacy character now, and I think it would be fun to do something with him one day.” Exactly when that day will come is anyone’s guess, but could it be that Marvel will re-introduce audiences to the fan favorite hero via the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming? The two characters do have a history in the comics, after all, and as it turns out, director Jon Watts, who’s expected to return for more, is definitely into the idea.
While speaking with We Got This Covered at the recent press junket for Homecoming, Watts revealed that he thinks the whole “vampire/Marvel Universe thing is pretty cool,” and that he can see Blade getting involved in the next solo Spidey film should they decide to go with a villain like Morbius.
Which villain would you want to take on next?
Jon Watts: I don’t know. I really haven’t thought yet about anything other than this movie.
I’m going to throw a name at you.
Jon Watts: Oh, yeah? Who do you like?
This is just because of the film you made Clown. I’m thinking maybe someone like The Chameleon? Hasn’t been done yet.
Jon Watts: Yeah, Chameleon’s cool. I wonder is it that cool of an ability nowadays? Like, we’d have to come up with a way to make him to be more than just that. But Chameleon is great and he’s also one of the earlier day villains. I mainly focused on the bad villains as just a joke because there are so many really silly guys. Like Big Wheel. [laughs] So I’ve kind of done the wrong research so far in who the next villain could be. Swarm… [laughs]
I was also thinking Morbius?
Jon Watts: Morbius is kind of cool!
But then I wasn’t sure of the tone of the character.
Jon Watts: The tone of the character is pretty dark, but the vampire/Marvel Universe thing is pretty cool. Maybe we could get Blade to show up, too? That’d be neat.
While this might just be wishful thinking on Watts’ part at this stage, we do know that the studio won’t be keeping Blade on the shelf forever, and introducing him as a supporting player in an already established series may be the right move, instead of just giving him his own solo film right off the bat. As such, we can definitely imagine it working out if he appeared in the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel.
We’ll just have to wait and see whether Watts gets his wish or not, and if he’s even going to return to direct the follow up – though it seems likely – but feel free to drop us a comment in the meantime letting us know if you’d be into seeing Blade and Spidey together on the big screen.