Marvel gets back Punisher & Blade ??

[Peyton Westlake]

Anyone aware of this?

Marvel Regains "Blade" & "Punisher" Rights

By Garth Franklin Monday July 25th 2011 03:01AM

Marvel CCO Joe Quesada has confirmed over the weekend that Marvel Studios has regained the rights to both the "Blade" and "Punisher" film franchises from New Line and Lionsgate respectively reports Worst Previews.
The various studios that have Marvel franchises, such as Fox ("X-Men," "Daredevil") and Sony ("Spider-Man," "Ghost Rider"), have to keep making films based on the property every few years or the rights automatically revert back to Marvel.
Now that they're with Marvel again however, don't expect further sequels anytime soon. Quesada adds that we shouldn't expect any movement on either of them for a long time yet.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

Nice!

 

[Timstuff]

Maybe Thomas Jane could have a cameo as Punisher in an upcoming Marvel flick, but as a movie franchise I think that Punisher is pretty much done, and any attempt at rebooting it by this point would be a futile waste of money.

I hope Marvel resists the urge to recklessly reboot Blade, also, because no-one is going to watch Blade without Wesley Snipes. Before the movies it was a pretty obscure comic, and if they are going to do another movie it should be Blade IV. That's what the seires' fans are going to want, and whatever equity the franchise still has is tied too closely with Snipes' portrayal of the character for Marvel to be able to bank on the character's name alone.

 

[SuperFerret]

That's nice I guess.


Who here is hoping they sit on these rights forever and focus on their superheroes?

*raises hand*

 

[KenK]

That's nice I guess.


Who here is hoping they sit on these rights forever and focus on their superheroes?

*raises hand*

Why? I suppose there's a stronger case against making another Punisher film, but the idea that no other actor could play Blade is preposterous, and this is coming from someone who loves Snipes as Blade. It's unfair to a number of black actors who would be more than capable of taking on the role, to say nothing of the directors who helped shape the character (excluding Goyer), and the handful of directors I think would take a character like Blade and do something just as good, if not better, than what's come before.

 

[S. Grundy]

They got the Punisher back last year, whether it's another movie or a TV show (yes, yes, everyone knows he would be perfect on HBO/Showtime/AMC/FX series), something is going to happen wit the character whether anyone thinks it makes sense or not. Blade on the other hand is new news, so hooray to Marvel for getting a character back,

 

[Russell Nash]

I hope Marvel gets the rights back to Ghost Rider and Daredevil as well.

A new interconnected series establishing Blade, Ghost Rider, Punisher, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and other Marvel Knights/mystical heroes in the MCU would be excellent.

 

[gmanca]

Yeah, I can't wait for the mystical side of Marvel, get really out there in style and content.

But with respect to Blade, how do they finesse the threat of vampires vs. the rest of the Marvel Universe not acting upon it?

Maybe if they made vampires more difficult to create, beyond just the traditional bite, it would work. Perhaps even make them an alien race like the film Lifeforce.

 

[Ipodman]

Ghost Rider seems to be having a new movie out... but Daredevil is dead so I guess that's going back to Marvel anytime soon... then we could have a Punisher vs Daredevil throw-down!

 

[Russell Nash]

Just make a Blade movie with Morbius as a bad guy turned ally in the end. You could make references to the order of the Midnight Sons with Doctor Strange, Hannibal King, Ghost Rider and Man-thing.

With Daredevil you could connect Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Shang-Chi and the Hand/stick.

 

[S. Grundy]

I hope Marvel gets the rights back to Ghost Rider and Daredevil as well.

A new interconnected series establishing Blade, Ghost Rider, Punisher, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and other Marvel Knights/mystical heroes in the MCU would be excellent.

Seeing as how Ghost Rider and Daredevil have new movies coming out, it might be a while still. That is unless they are flops in the tradition of Punisher: War Zone, then it'll be at least a year.

How do they finesse the threat of vampires vs. the rest of the Marvel Universe not acting upon it?

Maybe if they made vampires more difficult to create, beyond just the traditional bite, it would work. Perhaps even make them an alien race like the film Lifeforce.

It's not that hard, the vampires live in secret with the help of familiars in positions of power. Any threat would be like in the movies, Deacon Frost, the Reapers, Dracula - one vampire or relatively small group that wants to buck the status quo.

 

[Russell Nash]

Marvel has a real untapped well regarding Marvel Knights and mystical heroes. It would be very easy to interconnect films ala the Avengers. I can definitely see Marvel releasing these types of movies along with big-budget sequels to Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Avengers.

 

[gmanca]

Yeah, I agree that having the vampires restrain themselves from creating more because it would dilute their power, raise awareness to their status, etc helps but you lose that ability to further the threat though to the point where SHIELD considers them a threat. It's a balance that you have to thread very finely because they can't be so numerous that they're not considered a problem yet they have to be numerous to bite Blade's mother.

The previous Blade films had the sense of an upcoming battle for the survival of humans vs. vampires.

 

[Russell Nash]

I see it going down like this...

2012:
The Avengers

2013:
Iron Man 3
Thor 2
Ant-man (set up Vision)

2014:
Captain America 2
Incredible Hulk 2
Doctor Strange

2015:
Avengers 2 (Black Panther ala Hawkeye)
Blade
Punisher

2016:
Daredevil
Luke Cage/ Iron Fist (Heroes for Hire)
Ghost Rider Reboot

 

[Marvel]

I doubt Marvel will ever make more than two self made movies a year as long as the X-Men and Spider-Man franchises are firing off films. That would be too much for the public and we'd burn them out.

2013:
Iron Man 3
Thor 2

2014:
Captain America 2
Ant-Man

2015:
Avengers 2
Doctor Strange or Black Panther

 

[Russell Nash]

I doubt Marvel will ever make more than two self made movies a year as long as the X-Men and Spider-Man franchises are firing off films. That would be too much for the public and we'd burn them out.

2013:
Iron Man 3
Thor 2

2014:
Captain America 2
Ant-Man

2015:
Avengers 2
Doctor Strange or Black Panther

You could split up the summer between the tent pole projects and release films like Blade and Punisher during the holiday run of November/December.

 

[SuperFerret]

Why? I suppose there's a stronger case against making another Punisher film, but the idea that no other actor could play Blade is preposterous, and this is coming from someone who loves Snipes as Blade. It's unfair to a number of black actors who would be more than capable of taking on the role, to say nothing of the directors who helped shape the character (excluding Goyer), and the handful of directors I think would take a character like Blade and do something just as good, if not better, than what's come before.

No. Let's face it. This is Marvel's Blade.

The movies improved on that, and they worked for three reasons.

1. Vampires sell.
2. Wesley Snipes is an established movie star.
3. The first movie was well-made.

And here's the catch, let's say that they do make a new Blade movie. The people making it will have their figurative balls in a vise. They either make a movie based off of the Blade from the movies (and by extension, live in the shadow of those movies, and that's not saying anything about potential legal crap that comes with using concepts created by another studio), or they go closer to the comics (pre-movie) and risk having a flop due to not meeting people's expectations.

 

[hitmanyr2k]

Maybe Thomas Jane could have a cameo as Punisher in an upcoming Marvel flick, but as a movie franchise I think that Punisher is pretty much done, and any attempt at rebooting it by this point would be a futile waste of money.

Nah, The Punisher can still be a viable project (and hopefully done right) because it doesn't take any big budget effects to bring that character to life on the screen. I've always liked the character and have faith a good Punisher movie can be made. I didn't mind the movie with Thomas Jane but at the same time it didn't really feel like a Punisher movie to me.

I hope Marvel resists the urge to recklessly reboot Blade, also, because no-one is going to watch Blade without Wesley Snipes. Before the movies it was a pretty obscure comic, and if they are going to do another movie it should be Blade IV. That's what the seires' fans are going to want, and whatever equity the franchise still has is tied too closely with Snipes' portrayal of the character for Marvel to be able to bank on the character's name alone.

This I agree with. Snipes really made that character his and it'll be hard to find someone to fill his shoes...especially from a physical/action standpoint.

 

[S. Grundy]

You could split up the summer between the tent pole projects and release films like Blade and Punisher during the holiday run of November/December.

That's a terrible idea, darker films due terrible business during that time of year. Basically Marvel's best bet for the smaller films is during spring or fall. Then again post Avengers Marvel plans put more focus on the lesser known characters, it's just as likely a Dr. Strange film come out in the summer.

 

[Russell Nash]

That's a terrible idea, darker films due terrible business during that time of year. Basically Marvel's best bet for the smaller films is during spring or fall. Then again post Avengers Marvel plans put more focus on the lesser known characters, it's just as likely a Dr. Strange film come out in the summer.

Marvel is going to have to release three films a year then. Have the "darker" films like Blade/Punisher come out in the spring and have two summer tent poles. I see no situation where Marvel would sink money into the Punisher/Blade for a summer release.

 

[KenK]

No. Let's face it. This is Marvel's Blade.

The movies improved on that, and they worked for three reasons.

1. Vampires sell. How does a reboot negate this?
2. Wesley Snipes is an established movie star. So is Will Smith (and a great deal moreso than Snipes ever was). What's your point?
3. The first movie was well-made. Again, how would a reboot negate this?

And here's the catch, let's say that they do make a new Blade movie. The people making it will have their figurative balls in a vise. They either make a movie based off of the Blade from the movies (and by extension, live in the shadow of those movies, and that's not saying anything about potential legal crap that comes with using concepts created by another studio), or they go closer to the comics (pre-movie) and risk having a flop due to not meeting people's expectations.

Part of the problem I have with your argument is that you seem to be basing a lot of what you think of Blade's comics origins, off that one photo from the 70s Tomb of Dracula series. You seem to complete gloss over the character's portrayals in the early 90s. If they wanted to incorporate the Bram Stoker mythos into such a rebooted film, I don't think that'd be terrible at all. Even if they didn't, they could still take a number of ideas from Blade's origins, even the fact that he doesn't age as normally as humans do. You could write a story with more mystery surround what Blade actually is without ever outright saying it. As opposed to making him full-on half-vampire, establish an underlying subplot of him fearing a time when he'll start to crave blood.

In terms of fighting, he doesn't need to be the flashy martial artist Snipes' Blade was. It can still be part of his skills, but it doesn't have to be the basis. I'd focus more on his skills as a sword fighter and marksmen.

If anything, I'd love to see a Blade movie in New Orleans. A lot of films have been shooting there more than they have in the past anyway, not to mention it being right from the comics as well.

 

[Russell Nash]

I think the earliest we could see a new Punisher and Blade is 2016. If Marvel wanted to get the characters out sooner (which isn't that good of an idea), they would have to do a TV show.

 

[psylockolussus]

I think Marvel should not do a Blade movie and a Punisher movie in the next 10 years. There are more characters in the Marvel universe that have yet to grace the movie theaters.

 

[Red Mask]

Punisher vs. Daredevil.

 

[jerky123]

Maybe you could allude to the Punisher attempting to hunt down the Hulk, or Nick Fury could just look through some pictures with the Punisher and Blade when trying to find additional people to join the Avengers.