The MCU is one of the biggest movie franchises to date, but before the world of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the rest was born, one solo Marvel superhero movie changed everything. Tons of Marvel movies were released throughout the 90s and early 2000s, but many of them weren’t very good. Daredevil, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, and FOX’s X-Men series built up Marvel’s disconnected cinematic outings, but none of them were as good as this R-rated 90s action flick.
The first theatrical feature based on a Marvel Comics property was, interestingly, 1986’s Howard the Duck. Directed by Willard Huyck, the film was a critical and commercial failure, and it was an odd moment for Marvel, even if Howard would eventually come back in the MCU. However, this failure meant that it would be 12 years before another Marvel movie was released. This time, though, it was actually good.
In 1986, New World Pictures acquired Marvel Entertainment Group, meaning that it was able to begin making film adaptations of Marvel Comics stories. One of its earliest projects was a movie centered on the vampire hunter Blade, and initially it would have been a Western set in Mexico. Actors like Richard Roundtree and LL Cool J were in talks to play the daywalker, and eventually, the project was moved to New Line Cinema. There, it went through even weirder phases, with the studio wanting to make Blade a spoof at one point and asking if the character could be white at another. Luckily, David S. Goyer and David Fincher worked on the script and decided to take the material seriously. In 1996, Wesley Snipes signed on to play Blade, and the movie we all know and love was born.
Blade was released in theaters on August 21, 1998, and it was a hit. The R-rated Marvel movie made $131.2 million against a budget of $45 million, and it received decent reviews for its action and style. Snipes’ performance as Blade was arguably the best part of the film, and since its release, Blade has gone on to become his most iconic character. The film was successful enough to warrant two sequels, with Guillermo del Toro’s Blade II releasing in 2002, and David S. Goyer, this time in the director’s chair, releasing Blade: Trinity in 2004.
Blade is definitely a product of its time, with the vampires, clothing, and overall aesthetic feeling incredibly ’90s. The film takes itself very seriously, which makes the goofy moments stick out even more. While some reviewers felt that this contributed to a tonal problem within Blade, looking back on the project, it makes the movie so much more fun. The over-the-top performances and goofy lines like the famous “Some motherf*ckers are always trying to ice skate uphill” show a campy charm that most modern Marvel movies are too sanitized to feature, and it is what makes Blade so memorable.
Blade isn’t a perfect movie, and some of its issues are even more noticeable today. However, it is still one of the most unique and fun Marvel movies ever made. It was released in an era where Marvel was an underdog, and its success likely led to more Marvel movies being made. Although it is impossible to say for sure, it is possible that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, FOX’s X-Men, and the entire MCU wouldn’t exist without Blade.
Wesley Snipes’ tenure as Blade ended with the release of Trinity in 2004, and fans have been clamoring for more stories about Marvel’s vampire hunter for decades now. This is why many were so excited when, in 2019, Marvel Studios announced that an MCU Blade movie was in development, with Mahershala Ali signed on to play the title role. However, as years went on, updates on Blade‘s development were few. The news that was released was mostly bad, with script rewrites, director changes, and delays constantly being discussed. Then, in July 2026, Ali announced that he had left Blade, meaning that the MCU film is most likely never going to be made.
Meanwhile, Wesley Snipes’ Blade lived on in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, where he famously said “There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” This quote seems to be right, as Ali’s Blade was never seen in live-action, and if another Blade movie is made, it is undoubtedly years away. A Moon Knight variant of Blade appeared in Marvel Zombies, and we heard Blade’s voice in the Eternals post-credits scene, but Wesley Snipes’ Blade may be the only version of the character we see in a live-action MCU project.
