Blade is an American superhero horror film and television franchise based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Wesley Snipes as Blade in the film trilogy, and Sticky Fingaz in the television series. The trilogy was directed by Stephen Norrington, Guillermo del Toro, and David S. Goyer, the latter of whom also wrote the films and created the television series. The original films and television series were distributed by New Line Cinema from 1998 to 2006.

The character was created in 1973 for Marvel Comics by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan as a supporting character in the 1970s comic The Tomb of Dracula. In the comic, Blade's mother was attacked and bitten by a vampire while she was in labor with Blade, rendering him immune to being turned into a vampire; following the release of the 1998 film Blade, the character was retroactively made into a Dhampir and redesigned to match his movie counterpart. In 2024, Snipes reprised his role as the character in the film Deadpool & Wolverine.

Films Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriter Producers Blade August 21, 1998 Stephen Norrington David S. Goyer Peter Frankfurt, Wesley Snipes, and Robert Engelman Blade II March 22, 2002 Guillermo del Toro Peter Frankfurt, Wesley Snipes, and Patrick Palmer Blade: Trinity December 8, 2004 David S. Goyer Peter Frankfurt, Wesley Snipes, David S. Goyer, and Lynn Harris

Blade (1998)

Blade grows up to become a vampire hunter, swearing vengeance on the vampires that killed his mother. He teams up with a man called Whistler, a retired vampire hunter and weapons expert. Meanwhile, in the urban underworld, a feud is started between "pure-blood" vampires and those who had been human, but were "turned". Blade becomes aware of this and investigates further, uncovering a plot to raise the blood god La Magra, something he must stop at all costs.

Blade II (2002)

A rare mutation has occurred within the vampire community. "Reapers" are vampires so consumed with an insatiable bloodlust that they prey on vampires as well as humans, transforming victims who are unlucky enough to survive into Reapers themselves. Now their quickly expanding population threatens the existence of vampires, and soon there won't be enough humans in the world to satisfy their bloodlust. Blade, Whistler, and an armory expert named Scud are curiously summoned by the Shadow Council. The council reluctantly admits that they are in a dire situation and that they require Blade's assistance. Blade then tenuously allies with The Bloodpack, an elite team of vampires who were trained in all modes of combat to defeat Blade. They'll use their skills instead to help wipe out the Reaper threat. Blade's team and the Bloodpack are the only line of defense that can stop the Reaper population from wiping out the human and vampire populations.

Blade: Trinity (2004)

In the final installment of the series, the vampires succeed in framing Blade for the killing of a human (who was a familiar being used as bait). Blade, now in the public's eye and wanted by the FBI, is forced to join forces with the Nightstalkers, a human clan of vampire hunters. Blade, Hannibal King, and Abigail Whistler, who goes by the name Danica Talos, have succeeded in locating and resurrecting Drake, also known as Dracula, the first and most powerful vampire by far. Blade releases a virus to end him and all the other vampires, but being a Dhampir (hybrid), the virus also affects Blade with minor health consequences.

Cancelled projects

In October 2008, director Stephen Norrington was confirmed to be developing a prequel trilogy to Blade, featuring Stephen Dorff reprising his role as Deacon Frost. However, by August 2012, the film rights to Blade had reverted to Marvel Studios.

In October 2016, star of the Underworld film series Kate Beckinsale stated that a crossover film between the franchises had been discussed as a sequel to Blade: Trinity with Snipes returning, but was declined because Marvel Studios had plans to introduce the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

In May 2013, Marvel had a working script for a new Blade film. Snipes said in July 2015 that he hoped to reprise the role in any future film and had discussed this with Marvel. In 2019, Marvel Studios announced a Blade reboot set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with Mahershala Ali being cast as the title character. It was scheduled to be released on November 7, 2025. In October 2024, Disney removed the film from its release schedule. In July 2026, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said he was upset that they were not able to make a Blade film with Ali, believing it to be a "failure". Shortly after, when asked about Feige's comments, Ali said he had moved on from the role, saying, "For whatever reason, that project is not for me. If [Marvel] wanted to do it, we would've done it."

Television

Blade: The Series (2006)

In 2006, Spike TV aired a thirteen-episode series set after the events of Blade: Trinity, with Sticky Fingaz portraying Blade, replacing Snipes. Goyer (who wrote the scripts for all three of the films and directed the third film) also created the series.

Cast and crew Cast Character Films Television series Blade Blade II Blade: Trinity Blade: The Series 1998 2002 2004 2006 Blade Wesley Snipes Wesley Snipes Wesley Snipes Sticky Fingaz Abraham Whistler Kris Kristofferson Adrian Glynn McMorran Deacon Frost Stephen Dorff Dr. Karen Jenson N'Bushe Wright Quinn Donal Logue 'Mercury' Arly Jover Vanessa Brooks Sanaa Lathan Racquel Traci Lords Gitano Dragonetti Udo Kier Eli Damaskinos Thomas Kretschmann Jared Nomak Luke Goss 'Priest' Tony Curran Nyssa Damaskinos Leonor Varela Dieter Reinhardt Ron Perlman Asad Danny John-Jules 'Snowman' Donnie Yen 'Chupa' Matt Schulze 'Scud' Norman Reedus Dracula / Drake rowspan="2" Dominic Purcell Abigail Whistler Jessica Biel Hannibal King Ryan Reynolds Danica Talos Parker Posey Dr. Edgar Vance John Michael Higgins Jarko Grimwood Triple H Asher Talos Callum Keith Rennie FBI Agent Ray Cumberland James Remar Hedges Patton Oswalt Krista Starr Jill Wagner Shen Nelson Lee Marcus Van Sciver Neil Jackson 'Chase' Jessica Gower FBI Agent Ray Collins Larry Poindexter

Crew Film Director Producer Writer Composer Cinematographer Editor Blade Stephen Norrington Peter FrankfurtWesley SnipesRobert EngelmanAndrew J. Horne David S. Goyer Mark Isham Theo van de Sande Paul Rubell Blade II Guillermo del Toro Peter FrankfurtWesley SnipesPatrick Palmer Marco Beltrami Gabriel Beristain Peter Amundson Blade: Trinity David S. Goyer Peter FrankfurtWesley SnipesDavid S. GoyerLynn Harris Ramin DjawadiThe RZA Conrad SmartHoward E. Smith

Reception Box office performance Film Release date Box office gross All time ranking Budget Reference North America Other territories Worldwide North America Blade August 21, 1998 $70,087,718 $61,095,812 $131,211,411 #724 $45 million Blade II March 22, 2002 $82,348,319 $72,661,713 $155,010,032 #558 $54 million Blade: Trinity December 8, 2004 $52,411,906 $76,493,460 $131,977,904 #1,036 $65 million Total $204,847,943 $210,250,985 $418,199,347 $164 million

Critical and public response

+ Film Critical Public Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore Blade 47 (25 reviews) Blade II 52 (28 reviews) Blade: Trinity 38 (30 reviews) Blade: The Series 50% (18 reviews) 49 (15 reviews)

Music

Year Title Chart positions Certifications (sales thresholds) U.S. U.S. R&B 1998 Blade: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture Released: August 25, 1998 Label: TVT 36 28 US: Gold 2002 Blade II: The Soundtrack Released: March 19, 2002 Label: Virgin 26 23 2004 Blade: Trinity (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Released: November 23, 2004 Label: New Line – 68

Video games Blade – based on Blade, released in 2000. Blade II – based on Blade II, released in 2002. Blade Trinity - based on Blade III, released in 2004 exclusively for mobile phones.

References

External links