There was a lot of anxiety when Disney absorbed Fox, inheriting a wide swath of the entertainment industry and making a corporation already too big somehow even bigger. Among the less important concerns was this: Would they neuter Deadpool, the giddily blue comic book property? Or perhaps worse: Would Deadpool be their only R-rated superhero? So here’s some good news and (possible) bad news: Deadpool will stay adult-friendly. But it looks like, for now at least, their reboot of Blade will not.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MCU honcho Kevin Feige meant to allay some fans’ fears only to inflame that of others. All MCU movies have been a family friendly-ish PG-13, but he says they’ve “never been held back” by the rating. “If we ever are, then certainly there could be a discussion to be had …. but that just hasn’t been the case yet.”
Thing is, that suggests they haven’t considered an R-rating for their reboot of Blade, which is in the works and which finds two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali stepping into shoes previously occupied by Wesley Snipes. All three of those films, released from the late ‘90s through mid-aughts, were gleefully R-rated. Snipes’ vampire-who-hunts-vampires slashed and diced his way through the undead, none more beautifully than in Guillermo del Toro’s Blade II. But Ali may have to keep the actual blood-letting to a minimum.
Mind you, Feige could have misspoke. He could see the backlash that followed and change his mind. Or maybe Deadpool really will be the exception that proves the PG-13 rule. Nothing’s settled! But once people put two and two together, people on social media were not happy.
https://twitter.com/AJCI282002/status/1364644363800694786
https://twitter.com/euphoricspider/status/1364642274056040449
With the new Blade movie going for PG-13, I have to say it's the little things I'll miss most… like Blade ripping out a vampire's throat and throwing at another vampire's face. pic.twitter.com/08twCbqaWY
— Martin Kessler (@MovieKessler) February 24, 2021
Some thought Mahershala Ali deserves better.
I'm sorry, but I do not believe the good gentleman Mahershala Ali signed on to make a PG-13 version of Blade. No, sir! Not today, ma'am! No, thank you!
— Hanna Ines Flint – Free 🇵🇸 (@HannaFlint) February 24, 2021
One roped in another classic Wesley Snipes buttkicker.
PG-13 Blade? Simon Phoenix thinks it should be rated R. pic.twitter.com/XYaV18Xstl
— Vanessinator 🤖 T-80085 (@ilovejohnkimble) February 24, 2021
Some were (jokingly) cool with it.
https://twitter.com/kibblesmith/status/1364673232259932164
And many were peeved that there’s only one hyperviolent cusser in the MCU.
https://twitter.com/jspencecomicstx/status/1364651134678274048
https://twitter.com/niklander2/status/1364655670683971584
https://twitter.com/StillPhillyC/status/1364661668031188992
Marvel: Deadpool 3 will be R-Rated.
Me: Oh, thank God!
Marvel: The Blade reboot will not be.
Me: pic.twitter.com/EJrEDrD4kW— MadCapMunchkin (@MadCapMunchkin) February 24, 2021
Beside #Deadpool Marvel has no plans on making more R-Rated films…which might upset #Blade fans pic.twitter.com/6TsfcFWWOz
— Caleb Williams (@KnightGambit) February 24, 2021
Meanwhile, Snipes spoke with Uproxx recently about Coming 2 America, and he took the time to say that while he isn’t involved in Marvel’s Blade reboot, he supports them. He also adds that he was only a white belt when he made Blade. “It’s wonderful what we did, but, brother, we’re so much better than we were then,” he told us. He also says he has another movie in the works that he describes as his “Blade-killer.” So watch that space!
(Via THR)
