New Line Cinema‘s Blade trilogy starring Wesley Snipes has found a new streaming home.
Per Digital Trends, Blade (1998), Blade II (2002), and Blade: Trinity (2004) will become available to stream on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service on Friday, September 1, 2023. This marks the first time the supernatural-infused superhero trilogy has been available to U.S. viewers on a streaming platform in almost a year. The Blade trilogy was previously on Hulu from October to December 2022.
Blade brought Marvel back to the big screen
1998’s Blade was the first theatrically released movie based on a Marvel Comics character since the colossal box office bomb Howard the Duck in 1986. Blade’s success is often credited with paving the way for other Marvel adaptations like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men and Fantastic Four films, and Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003).
All three Blade movies follow Snipes’ titular Daywalker as he hunts down vampires with an arsenal of high-tech gadgets. While successful at the box office, the trilogy was not well-received by critics, though Snipes’ performance as Blade was often highlighted.
After Marvel regained the rights to Blade in 2012, Snipes reportedly met with the studio to discuss reprising the role for a fourth film. However, Marvel Studios eventually opted to do a full reboot instead, so that the character could be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In July 2019, Marvel officially announced a reboot of Blade with Mahershala Ali cast as the title vampire hunter.
Four years later, the Blade reboot remains in active development. There have been numerous behind-the-scenes changes made to the film, such as Yann Demange replacing Bassam Tariq as director. The production’s filming start date has also been continuously pushed back, first by script changes and currently by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Marvel Studios’ Blade is intended to close out Phase 5 of the MCU on February 15, 2025.
Wesley Snipes’ Blade trilogy begins streaming on Max on Friday, September 1, 2023.
