In the wake of multiple Marvel Studios hit pieces that have made the rounds in the past week, actual news about one of the studio’s most frequently targeted properties has emerged. In an interview with Deadline, director Yann Demange, who replaced Bassam Tariq as the director of Blade in November of 2022, detailed plans for the film, including its rating.
Since SDCC 2019, when Kevin Feige revealed that the studio was working with Mahershala Ali to bring the Daywalker to the MCU, the film’s rating has been the subject of speculation and debate among fans. While it’s not unheard of for vampire films to be rated PG-13, it’s certainly much more commonplace for them to receive an R-rating. Each of Wesley Snipes‘ Blade trilogy films, which introduced the character to mainstream audiences beginning in the late 1990s, received an R-rating and fans seem to staunchly believe that the MCU’s take on the character needs to be every bit as mature and violent. As it turns out, Demange shares that belief.
“They gave me the R, which is so important,” said Demange of the rating of the Ali-led reboot. According to the director, part of why that rating was so important to him was because of the singular talent of the project’s star. “We are going to have fun because Mahershala is such a deep actor. I’m excited to show a kind of ruthlessness, a roughness he has, that allows him to walk the earth in a particular way. I love him for that. He’s got a dignity and integrity, but there is a ferocity there that he usually keeps under the surface. I want to unleash that and put it on the screen.“
Though the film has had its share of issues in pre-production, Marvel Studios renewned committment to ensuring its upcoming projects hold up to the high expectations of the audience should pay dividends…and Blade, depsite all its ups and downs, may end up being the poster child of those efforts. Blade is currently slated to release on February 14th, 2025.
Source: Deadline
