The latest news suggests Marvel's Blade movie will more like the original films, and that's great news for the MCU. Marvel pushed Blade back after the film lost its original director, Bassam Tariq, and it's now known the studio conducted a page one rewrite. Lovecraft Country's Yann Demange has now taken over as director, and according to The Hollywood Reporter sources claim Marvel now plan on a darker and grittier production that will "maybe even find common shading with the fondly-remembered Blade movies made in the early 2000s by New Line."

Modern viewers are used to Marvel movies being a big deal. It's easy to forget that this wasn't the case back in the '90s, however; in fact, Hollywood had been passing on Marvel movies for decades. Blade was the film that put Marvel on the map, convincing filmmakers they should take their superheroes seriously. A decade later, Iron Man set the pattern for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but over the last few years there have been criticisms the franchise has become too formulaic. It's exciting to see Marvel go back to their roots.

Related: The MCU's Blade Problems Have Been Going On For TEN Years

Marvel's Blade Movies Are So Different To The MCU

Blade - Wesley Snipes - WWE Studios

New Line's Blade movies were decidedly R-rated, rejoicing in their gore and violence. Blade envisioned an entire vampire society, one that existed in the shadows of the real world and preyed upon humans without care or compassion. The film's opening scenes set the tone, with one vampire taking her chosen prey to a vampire nightclub to feast - only for her fun to be interrupted when Blade arrived. This led into a brutal and bloody action scene, as Blade cut a bloody swathe through the vampires. This doesn't just stand out because of its violence; stylistically and tonally, it's utterly unlike anything ever made by Marvel Studios.

What Marvel Studios Can Learn From Blade

Blade raising a fist and smiling in a bloody factory in Blade.

Producer Nate Moore has recently revealed Marvel is reluctant to hire comic book fans as writers, and Blade shows why that's a smart move. The comic book character had never really had the kind of impact seen by more famous superheroes, and so the script took a completely different approach - one the comics would actually imitate, with their version of Blade redesigned to look more like star Wesley Snipes. Marvel's current problems go one step further, however, in that the studio needs to allow their writers and directors the chance to toss out their own rule book, not just the lore from the comics. Marvel need to give Demange - and Emmy-nominated writer Michael Starrbury, who's also been brought on board - complete freedom to make something truly unique.

The latest reports suggest Marvel do intend to make a unique MCU Blade film, one that lives up to the franchise's history rather than simply introducing yet another superhero into the MCU. Marvel has flinched from such opportunities in the past, but hopefully this means the studio is becoming bolder after the critical success of the Werewolf By Night Disney+ feature presentation. Hopefully it won't be long before there are even more pleasing updates about Marvel's Blade.

Next: Why Blade Isn't In Marvel's Werewolf By Night

Key Releases