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Blade Trilogy
Blade Trilogy
The Blade Trilogy DVD box set
Directed byStephen Norrington (Blade)
Guillermo del Toro (Blade II)
David S. Goyer (Blade: Trinity)
Written byDavid S. Goyer
StarringWesley Snipes
Music byMark Isham (Blade)
Marco Beltrami (Blade II)
Ramin Djawadi (Blade: Trinity)
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
(Warner Bros. Entertainment)
Release date
1998–2004
Running time
350 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$164 million[1]
Box office$415 million

Blade is a film and television franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, portrayed by Wesley Snipes. They were written by David S. Goyer, based on the comics by Marv Wolfman, and Gene Colan. The three films were directed by Stephen Norrington, Guillermo del Toro and Goyer respectively, and distributed by New Line Cinema.

The character was created in 1973 for Marvel Comics by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan and was a supporting character in the 1970s comic Tomb of Dracula. In the comic, Blade's mother was bitten by a vampire while she was in labor with Blade.

Films[]

Blade (1998)[]

Blade grows up to become a Vampire Hunter, swearing vengeance on the creatures 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 they require Blade's assistance. Blade then tenuously enters into an alliance 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 which can prevent the Reaper population from wiping out the vampire and human populations.

Blade: Trinity (2004)[]

The vampires succeed in framing Blade for the killing of a human (who was in fact a familiar being used as bait). Blade, now in the public's eye and wanted by the FBI, has to join forces with the Nightstalkers, a human clan of vampire hunters. Blade, Hannibal King, and Abigail Whistler go after Danica Talos, who has succeeded in locating and resurrecting Drake, also known as Dracula, the first vampire and by far the most powerful. In order to stop him, Blade has to release a virus that will wipe out all vampires, but being a dhampir, he must face the possibility of also dying as a result.

By August 2012, the film rights to Blade had reverted to Marvel Studios.[2] In May 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel had a working script for Blade.[3] At San Diego Comic Con 2015, Snipes told IGN that both he and Marvel were in talks about bringing Blade back to theaters.[4][5] In 2016, Underworld actress Kate Beckinsale stated that Marvel was doing something with Blade, after she was asked about a crossover between both franchises.[6]

Television series[]

Blade (2006)[]

In 2006, Spike TV aired a thirteen episode series set before Blade: Trinity.

Cast and characters[]

Character Films TV series
Blade Blade II Blade: Trinity Blade
1998 2002 2004 2006
Eric Brooks
Blade
Wesley Snipes Kirk Jones
Jon Kent Ethridge
(young)
Abraham Whistler Kris Kristofferson Adrian Glynn McMorran
Deacon Frost Stephen Dorff Mentioned  
Dr. Karen Jenson N'Bushe Wright  
Quinn Donal Logue  
Mercury Arly Jover  
Vanessa Brooks Sanaa Lathan  
Racquel Traci Lords  
Gitano Dragonetti Udo Kier  
Michael Morbius Stephen Norrington  
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   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  
Krista Starr   Jill Wagner
Shen   Nelson Lee
Marcus Van Sciver   Neil Jackson
Chase   Jessica Gower
Agent Ray Collins   Larry Poindexter

Crew[]

Film Director Producer Writer Composer Cinematographer Editor
Blade Stephen Norrington Peter Frankfurt
Wesley Snipes
Robert Engelman
Andrew J. Horne
Avi Arad
David S. Goyer Mark Isham Theo van de Sande Paul Rubell
Blade II Guillermo del Toro Peter Frankfurt
Wesley Snipes
Patrick Palmer
Avi Arad
Marco Beltrami Gabriel Beristain Peter Amundson
Blade: Trinity David S. Goyer Peter Frankfurt
Wesley Snipes
David S. Goyer
Lynn Harris
Avi Arad
Ramin Djawadi Conrad Smart
Howard 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 $131,183,530 #724 $45 million [7][8]
Blade II March 22, 2002 $82,348,319 $72,661,713 $155,010,032 #558 $54 million [9]
Blade: Trinity December 8, 2004 $52,411,906 $76,493,460 $128,905,366 #1,036 $65 million [10]
Total $204,847,943 $210,250,985 $415,098,928 $164 million

Critical and public response[]

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Blade 54% (93 reviews)[11] 45 (23 reviews)[12] A-[13]
Blade II 57% (146 reviews)[14] 52 (28 reviews)[15] B+[13]
Blade: Trinity 25% (165 reviews)[16] 38 (30 reviews)[17] B+[13]
Blade: The Series 50% (18 reviews)[18] 49 (15 reviews)[19] N/A

Soundtracks[]

Year Title Chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
U.S. U.S. R&B
1998 Blade
  • Released: August 25, 1998
  • Label: TVT
36 28
2002 Blade II
  • Released: March 19, 2002
  • Label: Virgin
26 23
2004 Blade: Trinity
  • Released: November 23, 2004
  • Label: New Line
68

References[]

  1. https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Blade
  2. Kit, Borys (August 14, 2012). "Fox's Daredevil Rights on Verge of Reverting to Marvel as Ticking Clock Looms (Video)". Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/daredevil-marvel-fox-comic-adaptation-sequel-361982. Retrieved August 10, 2016. 
  3. Kit, Borys; Bond, Paul (May 7, 2013). "Marvel Cliffhanger: Robert Downey Jr.'s $50 Million Sequel Showdown". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2013. Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  4. The Player: Wesley Snipes, Philip Winchester Interview - Comic-Con 2015. July 10, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXQZ9x4fLs. 
  5. Snipes "In Talks" With Marvel About Blade Reboot - IGN News. July 10, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55K0kC8uO0M. 
  6. Jayson, Jay (October 7, 2016). "Marvel Is Doing Something With Blade According To Kate Beckinsale". ComicBook.com.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  7. "Blade (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo, LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  8. "Blade Production Budget". The-Numbers. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  9. "Blade II (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo, LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  10. "Blade: Trinity (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo, LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  11. "Blade". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  12. "Blade (1998)". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Retrieved November 18, 2018.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  14. "Blade II". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  15. "Blade II (2002)". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  16. "Blade: Trinity". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  17. "Blade: Trinity (2004)". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  18. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/blade_the_series/s01
  19. https://www.metacritic.com/tv/blade

External links[]

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