The Blade film trilogy occupies a unique space in the minds of the mainstream public as well as comics fans. The Wesley Snipes-led film series outperformed its comic counterpart by leaps and bounds, and defined the character for today's audiences. With the third Blade film underperforming financially, going forward, their best bet might be a re-envisioning of the Blade film franchise by going back to square one.
The Concept:
The Snipes' films touched on Blade's origins briefly, leaving room for a rebooted Blade film to start from the beginning. Pulling from his various origins told over time, a new Blade: Origins (pardon the title) would follow his birth as Eric Brooks in 19th Century London's Soho neighborhood to a prostitute of a neighborhood brothel. With his mother suffering complications during Brooks' birth, the doctor called in to assist is revealed to be a vampire who drained her and passed along the vampire gene to the newborn son. The unnamed doctor flees in the night, leaving the future Blade to be raised by the Soho prostitutes. Later on as a teenager he helps an old man named Jamal Afari who's being attacked by three vampires, and is taken under his wing to learn the truth about vampires and Brooks' own abilities. Using what Afari teaches him and his ragtag gang of friends, he takes on the local vampire warlord who goes by the name Lamia. Blade defeats her, but not without some losses, and along the way learns that Lamia is actually Lilith, bride of Dracula. *cue sequel*
The Director:
Following in the footsteps of Stephen Norrington, Guillermo del Toro and David Goyer might be a hard thing, but I’d look no further than enterprising young director Nimród Antal. Antal defied expectations in last year’s Predators, after everyone clamored for Robert Rodriguez to direct the film, and he did an admirable job. His other films (Kontroll, Vacancy and Armored) show he’s not just a flash in the pan and that he knows how to do action and suspense: the ideal combination for Blade. Factor in his Hungarian background, and giving this director the Blade franchise might be the perfect fit.
The Cast:
Anthony Mackie – Blade: Snipes carved a lasting impression onto the world's psyche in the role of Blade, but putting a young talent like Mackie in for these early years as Blade could be just a thing to bring new life to this undead killer. Mackie was impressive in The Hurt Locker alongside Jeremy Renner, and it's time he got a movie of his own to show off his skills.
Emily Browning – Glory: Although only a minor character in the comics, Blade's first real girlfriend could be a dynamic part if elaborated on correctly in a movie script. In the comics, Glory ended up being turned into a vampire – an ideal additional factor in fueling Blade's crusade against the bloodsuckers.
Clarke Peters – Jamal Afari: Peters made his name on The Wire, and his calm and deliberate delivery could prove a stabilizing force as the mentor for a young Eric Brooks as Blade. Imagine him as the vampire equivalent of Obi-Wan Kenobi to Brook's Skywalker; just the thing Blade would need to take on the vampire plague.
Tilda Swinson – Lamia / Lilith: Two separate characters in the original comics, but a subtle merging could heighten the stakes and provide a larger story arc for a new series of Blade films. Swinson's proven herself a versatile actor with several major villain roles on her side, but seeing her as a vampire would be something special.
Jude Law – Dracula: His role would be more a cameo than a fully-featured cast member, but having the groomed Englishman in Law as a sophisticated Dracula could fuel a lot of anticipation for a second Blade film.
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Very interesting casting choices. I personally think that the first two Blade movies are still just enough of Blade to enjoy. However Anthony Mackie as Blade has a lot of potential as well as Jude Law as Dracula. Law could really pull off a masterful performance as the Count. I like the director choice, but I would have thought someone like Aronofsky or David Yates even (since the Harry Potter movies are done) might fit better. They can really give a dark atmosphere to this film, if they ever give the reboot a greenlight. The other casting chices are a bit hit-or-miss, as well as the character choices. Personally I would just have Blade go off on a vengeance showdown against Dracula that is built up throughout the entrie movie up until the climactic battle, IMO.
i am in favor of all of this
hmm interesting choices, but this is one of the rare instances where i think a reboot is unnecessary. I think the Blade movies were fine for what they were and i found them very entertaining. I’d hate to see them revisited any time soon.
Law as Dracula? Huh?
Predators was great, I’d love to see Antal take a crack at Blade. Mackie in the title role would be pretty great too.
Hmmm, anthony mackie is a good choice, personally i’d been hoping Idris Elba would be Blade with a Clint Eastwood Whistler…
I agree, reboot is not needed. The first film was about a perfect comic book superhero film adaptation as you can get. Stephen Dorff really steals that movie as Deacon Frost, his whole look in that film is awesome, from the hair to the clothes. I think other Marvel properties should be looked at first, like a Fantastic Four reboot.
Great article though. Am loving these Reboot/Remake & Where Do I Start articles by Arrant. Keep up the good work mate!
@Jordan00613 well no reboot is really needed. we don’t even need movies about comics at all. but they’re fun, and so is this article. plus the big wigs are already trying to reboot daredevil and FF so musing about those is not nearly as fun and speculative as this kind of stuff is
I don’t want to see Dracula at all in a reboot. Casting is ok, but I’d like to see that kid who played Cyborg in Smallville as Blade.
@RoiVampire. What are you on? Reboots are definitely needed, especially when a studio exec ruins the source material and that is what angers me the most (and I have been told I get angry lot on this site, but I call it passion) So Batman Begins wasn’t a necessary reboot? What about Incredible Hulk? Was watching Blade on Sky MoviesAction with my girlfriend the other night, ten years on and it still is as good as I remember it, and I saw the film on DVD when I was 9. She knows nothing about comics but she enjoyed it, and if that type of graphic violence can appeal to a girl then your on to a winner. You reboot when the character has been butchered, not when it’s spot on. As for the Fantastic Four (just hard to do with all the cosmic/parallel dimensions) and Daredevil (poisoned chalice, just ask Ben Affleck), those films ain’t gonna get made for a long time. Marvel is juggling all the Avengers + Ghost Rider. Why reboot a classic?
But as I said previously, loving these articles, as well as the Where Do I Start (awesome) so please keep them coming Arrant!
@Jordan00613 No. Reboots are not needed. But that is completely separate issue from whether or not reboots are beneficial, or good, or better, all of these things are completely different from being necessary. There are very few things at all that are actually needed. While I applaud your passion, there is a hard line between wants and needs.
Ya lost me with mackie I want micheal jai white
I want a real Nightstalkers movie. Hannibal King and Whistler!