As both a comic book fan and a Netflix original series fan (House of Cards and Orange is the New Black) I was very excited to hear about Marvel’s collaboration with Netflix to produce Daredevil, Heroes For Hire and Jessica Jones series. I assume this move came so Marvel could effectively launch popular characters that might be too dark to thrive in the currently constructed Marvel Cinematic Universe. This move immediately made me wonder about the future of one of my favorite Marvel Characters, Blade, because he’s a darker character who had his own film trilogy as well as his own live action television series. Would he be better off getting his own Netflix series alongside the three already announced, or getting rebooting him in film? I wrote an article about who could portray Blade and what storylines could be used http://www.comicvine.com/blade/4005-7570/forums/how-marvel-should-reintroduce-blade-into-movies-1540602/#24

but I did not specify which medium would be the best delivery method for it.

A new television series could definitely provide Blade with a lot of autonomy. There’d be no limit on blood, guts and curse words (S/O to Wesley Snipes) used because the writers and producers would not have to worry about it fitting in with the target audience of the Avengers characters’ films. The show creators could also build a world/tone that is perfect for Blade rather than one that can fit amongst other characters. A potential downfall to this plan though is the fact that a TV series has already been made (Blade House of Cthon) and did not do particularly well from a ratings perspective. Also, TV series are often given smaller budgets than those given to movies.

A film reboot also comes with a few positives. Blade already has a well-established film history and did so during a time many were scared to make comic book movies (post Batman & Robin but pre X-Men). There’s also the chance that Marvel creates a Midnight Sons movie since a Dr. Strange film is inevitable. A Midnight Sons franchise could be a great opportunity to reintroduce Blade. This movie would also end Marvel/Disney’s streak of only making films with a white-male lead actor.

At the end of the day, I’m not sure which idea would be better in the long run. Blade, when written well, is one of the coolest characters (IMHO) Marvel has and I’d be more than happy to see him in either capacity.

Your Thoughts?

Blade has the potential to be one of the top 10 characters in Marvel

I've never watched the Blade tv show, is there a reason why it didn't do well? Also I'm still not sure how magic is going to work in the MCU so even tho a Midnight Sons movie would be amazing I'm not sure how they would do it.

@jonny_anonymous: I'd hope that the MCU could use Dr. Strange to establish magic in the universe. But you bring up a valid point.

@daredevil21134: Strong praise. I agree that the potential is there. How would you go about ensuring that the potential isn't wasted?

I liked it

Get a good writer on him that likes the character and push him to the moon. They do it for other characters that have far less potential

@daredevil21134: I feel like the writers who have written him recently haven't been Blade fans, so they didn't take pride in the character development or story telling. The gun-hand was so dumb and Blade has the ability to fight all kinds of villains not just vampires. He could be like the Black-Vampire John Constantine which would be awesome.

The guy on Mighty Avengers seems to have a good feel for him right now. The 12 issue Blade series was done by a writer who probably read wikipedia to learn about the character. I hated that series

@phantom1527: This right here is something you will probably hear all the time from any hardcore fan of Blade:

Do. Not. Only. Use. Vampires.

That will get stale so quickly even with a great writer. Right now Blade is being exposed to so many different supernatural areas and it works! Of course vampires should be his main thing but the character will never keep growing if he stays at his roots.

@phantom1527: Well marvel have said that in the movies Strange won't use proper magic but instead manipulate quantum s kinda like the power cosmic.

@jonny_anonymous: Really? That sounds like a bad idea

@phantom1527: Yea I think so to, it cuts off a lot of things that actual magic could do.

@jonny_anonymous: Yeah that is very limiting and would really downplay the whole "Sorcerer Supreme" angle which is what makes Dr. Strange special

I agree. I feel like if Marvel makes Blade into a character that combats all types of mystical foes he can be a top 10 character in terms of popularity. He can be like a sword wielding, super-powered John Constantine. Idk how Marvel feels about Blade, but I feel like he has great potential

What's wrong with him just knowing magic?

mini-series

@daredevil21134: For some reason Feige and Whedon don't want to introduce magic into their universe even though everything Asgardian is magic

lol,how ironic

@daredevil21134: Seriously. Maybe the uncertainty involving the Antman project will make the MCCU brain trust consider using a magic character like Dr. Strange or Blade. Or even BP. Some of those abilities sound mystically based

Marvel is filled with dumb fu***. Confirmed.

Blade would be better as a spin off of a Dr. Strange movie. Or maybe Strange could appear at the end of it to recruit him to the Midnight Sons in a similar way to how Fury recruited the Avengers. The first Blade movie would probably be best as a Nightstalkers movie, with Hannibal, done right, and Frank as side characters...or they could be saved for the second movie.

@trackz: I think it's more likely Marvel would go the Netflix route rather than another movie

@jonny_anonymous: I dunno, if Blade wasn't already the headliner of a classic trilogy, I would agree with you. But if a Robocop remake can make 242 million worldwide, I don't see why they wouldn't go for a Blade reboot, especially since Marvel Studio movies always do well in the box office.

Rise of the Midnight Sons 'Phase' on Netflix, with a liberal push from SHIELD.

Dr. Strange is already getting started.

Micheal Morbius (Spider-Man first appearance.)

Ghost Rider series on Netflix, starring Danny, with Vengence and Johnny (Hellfire Shotgun) to join later. (I wouldn't even mind Cage reprising the role, so long as he isn't the star, though Blackout needs a Daredevil reboot.) (Season 2 can push more into the current version)

Darkhold Redeemers series.

and of course, Blade & the Nightstalkers, but closer to the comic book form.

imo Netflix show sometime in the next few years