Marvel Brought Back Blade Long Before 'Deadpool & Wolveri...

Marvel Brought Back Blade Long Before 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' but No One Remembers

Wesley Snipes smirking as Blade in Deadpool & WolverineImage via Marvel Studios

By Brad LaCour Published 18 minutes ago Brad LaCour is a Senior List Writer for Collider. Based out of Los Angeles, California, Brad lives close enough to the stars but is too busy to find out where exactly they live. Brad is fairly certain he's seen Paul Stanley twice in a grocery store, but was too afraid to ask. Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the MCU, is a cinematic juggernaut of a franchise that has produced some of the biggest movies of all time. The MCU movies and television shows are known for overlapping characters in a shared world of alternative timelines, but in the late '90s, the only Marvel movie that enjoyed box office success was the 1998 horror action film Blade, starring Wesley Snipes, who returned for the 2024 movie Deadpool & Wolverine. The popularity of Blade would spawn a trilogy of high-profile films, but the TV spin-off, Blade: The Series, came and went without many being aware of its existence.

'Blade: The Series' Tried To Recreate the Marvel Character's Movie Success

Taking place after the events in the original Blade film trilogy, Blade: The Series sees Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones strap on Blade’s boots to continue the relentless hunt for vampires. Joining Blade in his war against blood suckers was Shen (Nelson Lee), who provided weapons and technical assistance, and Krista Starr (Jill Wagner), a woman who becomes a double agent of sorts when she is turned into a vampire and recruited by Blade. The 13-episode season would see Blade and his partners attempt to stop Marcus van Sciver (Neil Jackson), a vampire with secret plans to strengthen his vampiric offspring.

Blade: The Series was developed for television by David Goyer, who wrote the Blade movies and co-wrote the Dark Knight trilogy. Blade: The Series aimed to keep the dark atmosphere and edgy violence of the R-rated film series, but in a time before streamers and their lack of content restrictions were introduced, the choice of broadcast homes that would air such a series was limited. In comes Spike TV, a fledgling cable channel looking to create original programming that would align with the young male audience it was courting. Spike had aired the Pamela Anderson-starring animated superhero series Stripperella, so the gritty world of Blade would be a welcome addition.

Blade: The Series was not critically well-received, sitting at a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many citing the low production value or a lackluster story. The fandom for Blade was a double-edged silver sword for the series, because although the name of the hero would lure curious viewers, it would also invite comparison to the movies. Blade: The Series, operating on a smaller budget spread out over multiple episodes, could never reasonably recreate the quality of its big-screen counterpart. Blade: The Series wanted to emulate the look and feel of the movies, but without Snipes for the star power or a larger budget for the gory battles, the adaptation was a losing battle.

‘Blade: The Series’ Was An Early Attempt at Adult Superhero TV

Blade walking on the street in Blade: The Series.Image via Spike

Blade: The Series ultimately arrived a little too early for television. Movies like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Bryan Singer’s X-Men proved that a superhero movie could make money and draw an audience, but that didn’t translate to television yet, outside of animation. When Blade: The Series premiered in 2006, there weren’t streamers backed by companies like Amazon or Disney that could put up the necessary financial investment into making a high-quality action series. Additionally, the popularity of the MCU allowed for deeper experimentation within the superhero genre, and now we have multiple adult-oriented live-action superhero shows like The Boys that eclipse Blade: The Series in terms of violence or any other measurement of content.

An animated Blade with a sword is standing in a promo photo for Marvel Zombies.

Related 'Marvel Zombies' Was the Wrong Time To Introduce Blade

What gives, Marvel?

Posts By Billy Fellows Sep 27, 2025

Blade: The Series may be a largely forgotten program in the history of Marvel-inspired projects, but that hasn’t dampened the popularity of the day-walking antihero. Snipe’s cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine was a welcome addition to the story, and even though an announced Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali seems forever stuck in purgatory, fans would love to see it. Blade is a unique character in that he appeals to a general audience who may have a neutral feeling about traditional superhero stories. At a time when Marvel is seeking fresh ideas for an audience slowly losing interest, a Blade movie or television series would not be forgotten if it were released today.

Like Blade: The Series TV-14 Action Drama Fantasy Release Date 2006 - 2006-00-00

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