It's been more than a full decade since we last saw the vampire-hunting daywalker known as Blade on the silver screen - but if new rumors are to be believed, then the character may soon be making a comeback. But rather than a movie following the incarnation fans are familiar with from the Wesley Snipes films, it appears that a new movie about the hero could actually center on his daughter.
It's been previously revealed that Marvel Comics is launching a new series following the adventures of Blade's offspring, but Bleeding Cool is reporting that issues are being delayed because the comic is being seen as "extremely important by the bean counters, and the multi-media folk" at the company. According to the site's sources, the reason for this is because Marvel Studios is now planning a new Blade film and want the lead character to be the vampire hunter's daughter.
Introduced to Marvel Comics via the series The Tomb of Dracula, Blade a.k.a. Eric Brooks is a half-vampire/half-human who dedicates his life towards eradicating fanged bloodsuckers. He's been around since the early 1970s, but saw a huge surge in popularity in the late 1990s when the aforementioned Wesley Snipes movies began getting released. In many ways the series that got modern comic book movies going, Blade and its sequel, Blade II, were both surprisingly successful when they were released in 1998 and 2002, respectively. The last in the series, Blade: Trinity, made almost the same amount of money as the first Blade, but was critically reviled to the point that it killed the franchise.
Ten years after the release of Blade Trinity, New Line Cinemas failed to make any headway with new projects featuring Blade, and it was revealed that the rights to the character had reverted back to Marvel Studios. Since then, however, the company has not officially revealed any new developments for the property. Wesley Snipes has talked about having meetings with Marvel about possibly bringing back his live-action version of the daywalker, but I honestly think the idea of a new movie following Blade's daughter is a much better idea. Right now, 2018's Captain Marvel is the only feature project announced that has a female character at its center, and a new take on Blade is perfect for that. They could even choose to have Snipes involved and perhaps training a newcomer in the ways of vampire hunting.
Fans have been requesting the return of Blade for many, many years now, but what do you think about this potential direction? Do you like the idea of a new film following the adventures of Blade's daughter, or would you rather just see another take on the same hero we've already seen?
