Throughout reports of a troubled production, many fans of Blade simply want to know one thing: What will the MCU movie be rated?
The dutifully violent adaptation of the equally bloody comics found in New Line Cinema’s 1998 Blade film, starring Wesley Snipes, proudly wore the R-rating as a badge of honor. Would the Disney-owned Marvel Studios be so bold as to repeat that practice with their Mahershala Ali-starring reboot?
Up until now, only Deadpool 3 had the honor of being officially announced as the MCU’s first foray into R-rated territory. However, what do we know about the next adventure with the leather-clad vampire hunter who is himself a half-vampire?
Blade age rating, confirmed
With a brand new team of creatives behind the film, following a rotating door of writers and filmmakers that came and went, director Yann Demange has now confirmed Blade will be the MCU’s second ever R-rated movie.
This simple fact will no doubt prove to be a glimmer of hope for fans of the franchise who know anything less than an R rating likely wouldn’t do Blade any justice. Demange agrees as he explained in an interview with Deadline,
“They gave me the R, which is so important.”
While this is certainly great news for the film, the rating confirmation alone won’t make it a surefire hit. The latest writer for the movie, Michael Green, represents the fifth writer to try and take a crack at the story. Not only that, but original director Bassam Tariq also parted ways with the project over creative differences. That means there may be more troubles the movie has to overcome moving forward than just the rating.
For now, it seems the earliest release date for Blade may not be until 2025, since it was previously removed from a September 2024 release schedule.