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Blade (franchise)

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

The Blade films are 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. Thus, it can be inferred, Blade was born as a dhampir, a human with vampire genes.

Films

Blade (1998)

Main article: Blade (film)

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)

Main article: Blade II

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)

Main article: Blade: Trinity

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 at the hands of the virus.

Future

At San Diego Comic Con 2015, Snipes told IGN that both he and Marvel are now in talks about bringing Blade back in theaters.[1][2][3]

Cast and characters

Character Film TV series
Blade Blade II Blade: Trinity Blade: The Series
Eric Brooks/Blade Wesley Snipes Kirk Jones
Abraham Whistler Kris Kristofferson   [Recordatory & Mentioned]
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   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 Amundsen
Blade: Trinity David S. Goyer Peter Frankfurt
Wesley Snipes
David S. Goyer
Lynn Harris 		Ramin Djawadi Conrad Smart
Howard E. Smith

Reception

Box office performance

Film Release date Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Reference
North America Other territories Worldwide All time North America All time worldwide
Blade August 21, 1998 $70,087,718 $61,095,812 $131,183,530 #724 $45 million [4][5]
Blade II March 22, 2002 $82,348,319 $72,661,713 $155,010,032 #558 $54 million [6]
Blade: Trinity December 8, 2004 $52,411,906 $76,493,460 $128,905,366 #1,036 $65 million [7]
Total $204,847,943 $210,250,985 $415,098,928 $164 million

Critical and public reaction

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Blade 55% (84 reviews)[8] 45% (23 reviews)[9] A-[10]
Blade II 59% (136 reviews)[11] 52% (28 reviews)[12] B+[10]
Blade: Trinity 26% (163 reviews)[13] 38% (30 reviews)[14] B+[10]

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

See also

References

  1. ^ The Player: Wesley Snipes, Philip Winchester Interview - Comic-Con 2015. YouTube. July 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Snipes "In Talks" With Marvel About Blade Reboot - IGN News. YouTube. July 10, 2015.
  3. ^ Gebreyes, Rachel (September 22, 2015). "Wesley Snipes Says 'There's Possibility' For Another 'Blade' Film". Huffington Post.
  4. ^ "Blade (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo, LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  5. ^ "Blade Production Budget". The-Numbers. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  6. ^ "Blade II (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo, LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  7. ^ "Blade: Trinity (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo, LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  8. ^ "Blade". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  9. ^ "Blade (1998)". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  11. ^ "Blade II". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  12. ^ "Blade II (2002)". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  13. ^ "Blade: Trinity". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  14. ^ "Blade: Trinity (2004)". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
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