BLADE rights regained by Marvel, planning Film or TV Series

[Hyperman]

If Marvel is smart (and it would seem that they are with the major characters), they will do one of two things with The Punisher:

1-Let Stallone take a shot at directing and starring. He's the perfect age to play the MAX Frank, and he's played Vietnam vet before. He's expressed interest numerous times in interviews with AICN, and he's said he's approached Marvel about doing something.

2-Create a TV series on AMC (more viewers than HBO or Showtime) and do mini-season arcs based on Ennis' MAX run. Granted, they are gory in the extreme, but I'd say they're on par with what's been seen in The Walking Dead. The only thing that would have to be censored is, ironically, the language. Get Richard Burgi to play Frank and you'd have a winner.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I'd like to see more Blade but Wesley will be a hard act to follow. Sticky Fingaz wasn't up to it, that's for sure.

I'm not sure that Blade needs to fit in the cinematic Marvelverse; I guess he could but I thought that the previous movies worked well in their own self-contained 'verse, where vamps, rather than supervillains were the big bad to deal with. Fair enough, he originated in the wider comic Marvel universe but I don't see him as a team player.

As for Punisher, well, I've never really cared for the comic character and while I haven't seen the Ray Stevenson version, I didn't like either of the other movies. IF Marvel can do it well where others have failed, good on them. But I don't think it will work unless you add some Garth Ennis type madness into it. To my mind, Punisher was always just Marvel's attempt in the 1970s to rip off Bronson, Eastwood etc. On the big screen, he's just another tough guy with a gun out for revenge ... yaaaaaawn. Maybe fitting him into the wider Marvel movieverse will distinguish him from the herd but I wouldn't find yet another Punisher movie a must-see.

 

[JarodRussell]

Snipes or no one.

Gotta disgree there. Snipes was good, no question, but no actor is irreplaceable. If we can have at least six Jame Bonds, five Batmans, seven Supermans, four Bruce Banners, and God knows how many Sherlock Holmes's, I think we can have a third Blade . . . .

A third Blade? Like there had been a second*.

* yes.



But come to think of it, I'm still waiting for Blade III.

 

[Starbreaker]

When are they going to give up on The Punisher? Reallllly?

 

[the G-man]

Glad Punisher is back. If there's on character that needs a smash hit it's punisher. The property has been rebooted 3 times.

Part of the problem with the Punisher, as noted above, is that he's one of the most completely unoriginal concepts in movies. He was created as a hand over fist rip off of Don Pendleton's "Executioner" book series and, even if he predated "Death Wish" by a few months, by now those sorts of movies must number in the dozens (if not more).

Simply put, other than a skull shirt, what can a Punisher movie bring us that hasn't been done to "death" (no pun intended) by guys like Bronson, Norris, Eastwood, etc.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm not sure that Blade needs to fit in the cinematic Marvelverse; I guess he could but I thought that the previous movies worked well in their own self-contained 'verse, where vamps, rather than supervillains were the big bad to deal with. Fair enough, he originated in the wider comic Marvel universe but I don't see him as a team player.

.

I'm inclined to agree. And even in the comics, he first appeared in Tomb of Dracula, not The Avengers. He used to fight Dracula and Morbius, not Dr. Doom. He's more of horror-movie character, not a superhero.

In fact, I suspect that the average moviegoer didn't know or care that the BLADE movies were based on a comic book. They were vampire movies, not superhero flicks.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^^ I didn't know he was a Marvel character and I was actually pretty decently versed in Marvel at the time.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

I only knew he was a Marvel character because I used to collect the comic cards like Fleer Ultra X-Men or Marvel Masterpieces.

 

[timothy]

I would love to see a new warriors movie done. or even a speedball solo movie.

the blade trilogy was great and so was the tv show.punisher remake was awesome the warzone sucked never should've used jigsaw. but I would'nt mine seeing another attempt on the punisher. is it true that tom welling maybe deathlocke?

 

[Captain Craig]

Glad Punisher is back. If there's on character that needs a smash hit it's punisher. The property has been rebooted 3 times.

Part of the problem with the Punisher, as noted above, is that he's one of the most completely unoriginal concepts in movies. He was created as a hand over fist rip off of Don Pendleton's "Executioner" book series and, even if he predated "Death Wish" by a few months, by now those sorts of movies must number in the dozens (if not more).

Simply put, other than a skull shirt, what can a Punisher movie bring us that hasn't been done to "death" (no pun intended) by guys like Bronson, Norris, Eastwood, etc.

I don't disagree here at all in principal. Those movies did keep getting made though and are proof along with resurgence ala The Expendables that if done good enough people will still show up for them.

I think some, some of the problem is that the Punisher has yet to have a movie that lays out the background of who Frank Castle is pre-Punisher. The Jane version tried, a bit, but didn't go far enough.

IMO a good Punisher movie needs to touch on his war experience. Move 'Nam up to Desert Storm ala moving up Iron Man out of 'Nam. Set up his family life for more than just 6-7 min in the film. Round him out as a person first. The Punisher shouldn't even show up till Act II at some time. Have his family gunned down in Central Park as it is written. Not on the beach. The Stephenson version alluded that it was a park but we got none of the imagery of that moment.

Punisher could succeed if done right, like any property. Problem is he just hasn't been fully done right and I think Marvel is right in not rushing to do another too soon. They are probably acutely aware that they have ONE more honest shot to sell the character before he becomes basically a cinematic joke. They have The Avengers to recast Hulk thankfully.

As for Blade I'm fine with Marvel using him as a core character to explore the horror side of their cinematic universe. I expect their to be nods of some sort to Stark Enterprises or SHIELD but other nods to the corners of the horror/supernatural aspects. Mentions of Marc Spector, Swamp creatures, werewolves etc. Blade is a great launching point for the horror side of Marvel as Iron Man was for the main line heroes.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

Maybe in 10 to 15 years time, we'll get Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe: The Movie!

 

[captcalhoun]

nah, move Castle's war experience up to Afghanistan or Iraq. makes it more 'now'.

 

[Yminale]

IMO a good Punisher movie needs to touch on his war experience.

Absolutely NOT. The last thing anyone should do is promote the idea that war veterans are potentially violent psychopaths even if it's for a comic book movie.

If you want to see the ultimate Punisher movie, rent a copy of "Taxi Driver"

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

Well technically he's a violent psychopath with a vendetta because his family got shot up.

 

[DarKush]

I call B.S. on Quesada's reason for putting Blade on the backburner; the New Line Blade films have already proved the character can be successful and this was a couple years before the X-Men came out and several years before Spider-Man came out. Blade's star may have faded due to Trinity, the TV series, the Guggenheim comic, and a general neglect over the years (though he was in MI:13, the X-Men vampire arc, and Ultimate Avengers recently), but the idea they sit on their most famous (heck, comics most famous vampire hunter) while vampires are still hot, doesn't make much sense to me.

I'm glad we are getting the anime series, but hopefully this will lead to something live-action. As for who should play Blade, I love Wesley, but the character is bigger than any one actor, or any one style or interpretation of him. Though I would love to see Wesley get one more movie to wipe away the memory of Trinity, I also wouldn't mind seeing a different take, though I still want him to be as cool and cutting edge as Wesley's Blade was.

With Punisher, I think they need to do a TV show on Starz or Showtime, that's hard hitting and inspired by the Ennis-Aaron Punisher books. I think Punisher has a lot of potential as a character; he has layers under the right writer. But a lot of the success would be based on creating some really badass, twisted villains and situations for the Punisher to get into and out of. If they could get Ray Stevenson back it would be awesome, though I always thought Richard Burgi could be a kickass Punisher and I assume he's about the right age for a MAX-era Castle.

 

[Deckerd]

I think you've answered your statement right there. Blade is being put on the shelf because of Trinity.

 

[DarKush]

^
That doesn't make much sense. Trinity is almost a decade old. Granted Blade didn't make the money that Spider-Man 3 or X-Men 3 did (other disappointments), but those films series were rebooted/continued in shorter time. And Blade wasn't intended to make that kind of blockbuster money anway; but it was still successful. If Punisher and Hulk also got rebooted in shorter time frames, it makes no sense to not give a shot with Blade. Trinity wasn't a good film, but it wasn't a bomb; if it was, there wouldn't have been a post-Trinity stab at a TV show; or a comic book series.

Trinity was disappointing, but Blade's time in the cinematic doghouse has been far too long. If Marvel is skittish about producing black superhero films, or other heroes of color, Blade is a good rejoinder to those fears, and it would make business sense to retry with him since he already has a cinematic track record and some general audience popularity.

If they ever did remake the movies, I hope they aren't connected to the Avengers movie universe they are building. But perhaps linking them to Ghost Rider and maybe building up to a Midnight Sons movie would be the ticket.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Thinking about Trinity only makes me think of David Goyer's original proposal for the film which to me would have been much more interesting than what we got.

 

[Captain Craig]

I don't pretend it was perfect but I like Trinity just fine. Think it is overly lumped in with the real duds like Elektra too quickly.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Trinity is an okay movie. We almost got a "Nightstalker" spin off from it so I dunno what Joe Q is talking about pushing Blade to the back burner due to "Trinity". He could have simply stated we have no immediate plans for the character and leave it at that. He didn't have to single out a film for any specific reason.