Replies by David Goyer at Spike forums

jamesjuhn

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David S. Goyer
Okay, I'll try to be as regular as Johns as been.

BADMAN writes:
"Ok i just wanted to know if Hanibal King or any of Blade's fellow vampire hunters from the comic books will be showing up in future episodes of blade the series? "

Assuming we go to Season 2, we'll probably have some of the other characters show up. King is a possibility. So is Frank Drake, etc.


GEOFFJOHNS writes:
"I got one! Moon Knight, Union Jack or Morbius. Which one are we going to do?!"
I'd vote for all three, and then some. We're trying to convince Marvel to let us use some of their lesser-known characters in the same way that Smallville has been showcasing DC characters. I think it's a win-win situation. At the moment, we currently only have access to the "Blade universe".
But in my mind, Morbius is the most obvious character that exists outside that universe. He'd be my first pick. Apparently, SOMETHING ELSE agrees with me:

ORION, I like your ideas. Particularly your suggestion of working Union Jack into the mix...


AFROSAMURAI writes: "how and why did you come up with the idea of giving Blade tattoos?"

Well, I happen to be heavily tattooed myself. I have full sleeves of Asian-style tattoos. Had them since I was 25 or so. I thought the tattoos would give Blade an iconic feel. Wrote it into the original script.


AFROSAMURAI also writes: "There are not alot of shows out there that show black men in a strong and positive light. Im grateful to you for showing the industry that not all black men have to be gangsters or dealers, but that we can actually be superheros, with brains, brawn, and honor. Im not sure if you know it or not but you finally gave alot of young black youths (myself included) a hero on the big screen and now small screen that they can idenify with."

That makes me feel like it was all worth it. I remember when we were doing the first Blade film, New Line asked if we could make the character white. They were worried that if we cast a black actor we wouldn't be able to justify the large budget. I kicked and screamed and Blade stayed black, thank God. I hope there will be more black superheroes that come to screen. And asian ones. And hispanic ones. I also think it's immportant to depict ethnic characters in film and TV in stories that aren't specifically about race or "urban" issues, if you know what I mean. The fact that Blade is black really is incidental to the story.


FREDERICKA writes: "In the pilot episode there was a noteable presence of Native Americans. Very unique! Is this theme going to be explored more as the series continues?"

At some point, yes. This theme will be explored. Somewhere else on the board a person posted saying that we were depicting Native Americans in a negative light. But i think that poster missed the point -- the Native Americans all glimpsed WERE VAMPIRES. They were no longer behaving as Native Americans, but rather, as victims who had recently been turned. What, specifically, happened with that scenario is a story to be explored at another time. But you'll get another glimpse of it in about 3 weeks...


FREDERICKA also writes: "In conjunction with the previous question, House Leichen's relation to the series has already been addressed, but I am curious to know if there is a connection with them as far as Native Americans or other similar aboriginal peoples are concerned relating to their use of rites and ceremonies. "

This is a distinct possibility. To date, we've only really explored Chthon, Leichen, and Armaya. The house from the first Blade film was Erebus, which we hope to delve into if we get a Season 2. But that leaves another 8 houses that we've yet to even touch upon.


DIALLO writes: "Make Blade the central driving force of the series. This series improves with every episode, and I have enjoyed the depth and character development given to Marcus, Krista, and Chase. But I would like to see more done with Blade."

We focus much more squarely on Blade in episodes 108, 111, 112, and 113. Having said that, Blade: The Series is an ensemble show. It's my belief that the best shows are ensembles. Also, movies and television shows have different requirements. In the films, Blade was a man of few words. We rarely touched upon his back-story and he was not unlike the characters Clint Eastwood played in many of his Westerns. But if we were to showcase the exact same depiction from week-to-week, I think the series would get boring.


DIALLO also writes: "Blade's character growth and development. As the central character, I want to see Blade's emotional stake (pun intended) in the unfolding drama of House Chthon. So far Krista has been a far more interesting character because the audience sees that she has a personal stake (pun again) in taking down Marcus and House Chthon. This series so far has largely been her journey."

Well, the series introduction was definitely seen through Krista's eyes. In the same way that the first film was largely seen through Karen's eyes. We wanted to create a character who would function as the audience's proxy. Since we were hoping to bring new viewers to Blade (people who hadn't seen the movies) we felt we had to introduce a character that was green in terms of the vampire universe. But I think you'll see as the series progresses that the spotlight moves back more squarely on Blade.


"In the movies, Blade had almost a personal reason for ashing each major adversary: Frost, Nomak, and Drake. I don't see his personal tie to House Chthon and Marcus yet outside of the usual killing vampires thing. "

Diallo, that's a good point. Next week's episode, however, is much more personal for Blade.


"Also, does Blade have any other interests beyond killing vamps? In the comics he had romantic relationships and was a jazz musician to make ends meet. I would definitely like to see the more human side of Blade."

Surely Blade does have other interests, but I think we need to be careful about how much we delve into them. One of the reasons Blade is effective is because he is somewhat inscrutable. It's a fine line between exploring his character and de-mythologizing him. If he becomes too human, he might risk becoming too soft.


"Mr. Johns said there were no plans for Karen Jenson in season one, but hopefully she might appear in season two?"

I think that would be cool. We'll work on it! I like the idea of bringing in Safron Caulder as well. (Geoff, what do you think?)


"Vampire Nation politics. Keep it up. It was definitely one of the coolest innovations you helped bring to the vampire mythos and it's perhaps my favorite part of the series-watching Marcus's serpentine machinations. I can't wait to learn more about the vampire houses."

You'll definitely be seeing a lot more of that. We're treating the vampires like the ultimate crime family, so those machinations are the meat and potatoes of the show!


"Don't Bring Back Deacon Frost. I loved Deacon Frost in Blade, but I don't think you need this character for the series. You, and your writing team are very creative and I am sure you could bring him back in a convincing way. But Blade has a lot of villians-Night Terror, Madame Lavelle(sp), Vierken, Varnae, Ulysses Sojourner etc. that could perhaps be utilized instead of Frost."

Point taken on Frost -- but I think others would be interested in seeing him return. (How about a vote? Someone should make a poll.) As for the other characters you cited, I'd love to bring some of them into the mix.


EXPECTANCY writes: "Are we going to see a conversation take place between Blade and the villian(s)?"

To be honest, I wish we'd done a little more this season. We should've had some kind of face-to-face with Marcus in the midst of the run. But there's one coming, that's for sure...


SILASBAT writes: "I know you can't really change it now and I've come to terms with that, but I was wondering why you went in the direction of a "street" Blade over the samurai type of the movies?"

This is a slightly different depiction of Blade. And to a certain extant, that depiction is shaped by the person playing the role. We liked Sticky's auditions and we wanted him to bring his own, unique twist to the character. The samurai elements are still there -- he's just a bit more "downtown" in the series.


"Also, why were the tatoos Blade wears changed for the series (are they tribal markings on Sticky?)?"

The tattoos were simplified because they were just too damn complicated to apply on a day-to-day TV shooting schedule. The movie tattoos took hours to apply and we just couldn't afford that luxury.


"I've also noticed a lot of the vampires Blade fights can crawl around on ceilings, jump around like crazey and things like that (especially the last ep where he was escorting the "pregant" lady). Why doesn't Blade seem to have these abilities (all of their strengths, none of their weaknesses, right?)? Are those different kinds of vamps than Blade?"

Creative license, my friend. I suppose Blade COULD do it, if he wanted to. But it might look a little goofy.


"How much improvement do you foresee in Sticky's martial arts abilities in the next season or two?"

A lot. Watch the pilot again, then compare his moves to where we're at now. Blade's martial arts abilities (and the action in general) ramp up from every episode here on out. It's been a learning curve -- for the producers, Sticky, stunt crew, etc. By the end of the season, I think we've managed to double the mayhem. That will certainly be carried on into Season 2.

"By the way (a little off topic praise, but doesn't require a response), Batman Begins is one of my favorite movies ever. Thank you so much for writing it. I really can't wait for the next one."
Word.

Okay. That's it. My first batch of replies. Keep watching. Tell your friends.
And WRITE LETTERS to Spike and Marvel!!!!!!!!!
DSG


Hi. Back again, after yet another cross-country trip. Time for a few answers. But I'm glad people seem to be enjoying the show. From our perspective, the episodes get better and better from here on out.

THE BLOOD TITAN ASKS:

"Will the show ever explain why "Daystar" didn't work? How did the vampires survived, and doesn't that mean there's no hope in winning the war again them?"

GOYER: We may get into that at some point. As I've said before, the show is sort of a continuation of the movies and sort of "The Ultimate Blade" version (as in The Ultimate line of Marvel Comics).

TITAN: "Will the show ever bring back the inhaler delivery system for his serum? I don't buy that Sommerfield's notes were destroyed and that's why Blade can't use the inhalers now. Sommerfield was shown to have given files to another Nightstalker, why not information on the inhaler?"

GOYER: While you are correct that Sommerfield may very well have made other arrangements for her notes to be passed on, I decided that the "old-fashioned" injection delivery system for the serum was simply more visceral. Because we were introducing many of the TV viewers to Blade for the first time, I felt like it would be good to go back to scratch on that element. The inhaler may come back at some point.

TITAN: "Will the Reapers ever appear on the show? Maybe Nomak last victim lived or a new breed of Reapers gets created?"

GOYER: Good idea, there. Would love to see a Reaper in Season 2.

TITAN: "Will "Blade: The Series" ever show another Vampire Zombie, like what Dr. Curtis Webb got turn into in the first movie?"

GOYER: Assuming we go another season, I think that is a definite possibility. Some people refer to these screwups as "revenants".

TITAN: "There was a hint in the pilot that Werewolves are real in this Blade Universe, will we ever get to see them? Of course Blade should stick to hunting vampires, but maybe show an indication between the Vampires and the Werewolves, and a Lycan Hunter similar to Blade; maybe like a Human/Werewolf hybrid or get Marc Spector/Moon Knight to make a guest appearance. Either way could lead to a possible spin-off."

GOYER: Yes, werewolves are real in this universe. And a few other beasties as well. My contention is that they are all, in one way or another, off-shoots of the vampirism virus. Geoff and I would both like Spector to show up. Keep your fingers crossed.

TITAN: "Is there anyway a second "Bloodpack" could be made. Have another team of Vampires that are trained to hunt/kill Blade. If you guys do a second "Bloodpack" you need to have another Vampire swordsman, like Snowman, and have a nice swordfight with Blade. Blade needs a swordfight!"

GOYER: Blade will be getting a great sword fight in the season finale. As for another Bloodpack -- no immediate plans.

TITAN: "Last, but not least... Will Blade ever get laid in the series? There were talks of a sex scene in all three films and it never happened, Blade need to get some!"

GOYER: Hmmm. Maybe we should take a poll on that one!

SAMWISE WRITES:

"I was wondering if you saw the David Goyer call to fans thread that is a sticky topic. What about Tatjana Stiles is it possible she can make an appearance?"

GOYER: I've read the call to fans thread. Tatjana is a possibility. The comicbook geek in me loves the idea of bringing in more obscure characters.

SOMETHING ELSE WRITES:

"I've read interesting discussions regarding the validity of the show as a sequel to the Blade films which picks up from where Trinity left off. The show has the makings of a sequel but still has inconsistencies that oppose that assertion. Which is it? Was the idea to set the movies aside and start over ever considered? I like the show but that was an interesting observation."

GOYER: See some of my earlier replies regarding this.

MERETEAN WRITES:

"I know you will probably mostly use local Vancouver talent, but I would like to suggest Mark Dacascos for a guest role. He can act and he definitely doesn't need any martial arts training. Plus he'd make a cool Asian vampire."

GOYER: Mark would be great on the show. Would love to have him. And he totally kicked butt in Brotherhood of The Wolf.

DENISE WRITES:

"If there was a Season 1 DVD coming out, would there be any bloopers or deleted scenes?"

GOYER: Bloopers, yes. Probably. And we've also been shooting unrated material to weave into the episodes as we've been going along.

SARAHM WRITES:

"Any chance you or any of the other writers, producers, or actors could be guests at DragonCon? It's one of the biggest sci-fi/fantasy/horror conventions, and it's happening Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, GA. The website is dragoncon.org"

GOYER: I don't think there are any current plans for us to attend. Sorry!

BLAZE WRITES:

"I notice in the Blade movies that Blade has no problem taking out a few vampires a once, but now Blade appears to have trouble with just one vampire. What's up with that?"

GOYER: Blaze, both Geoff and I have responded to this question multiple times. To keep things interesting, we decided to power down Blade a bit for the show. If he mowed dozens and dozens of vampires down without even breaking a sweat every episode I contend that things would get boring very quickly.

METALDAD WRITES:

"Looks like afew back stories are i order.such as Blade and Shen's partnership.. How did it begin? What's Shen's backstory"

GOYER: Yep. We'll get to that eventually. But if we revealed everything immediately, we would have much of a series left, would we? I'm just happy that people are INTERESTED in these back-stories.

METALDAD: "Hoping upcoming episodes will bring all of this to light. which brings me to my question, after watching episode 8 i noticed next week the show is on at 10 pm any reason for the time cahnge?My paranoia says the show will end soon and as a fan of blade that would be sad, especially now that i'm vested in watching where evewrything will lead."

GOYER: Hmmm. Not sure where you're watching the show -- but in most places, it always runs at 10PM for its first run. Then again at 11. Then a few other times throughout the week.

KONG WRITES:

"I was just wondering if might be directing an episode down the line. I liked what you did with Blade Trinity and would love to see what you could do on the show. "

GOYER: Assuming you me ME directing -- possibly. But when we were shooting the series I was also editing and finishing post on my new movie THE INVISIBLE (which comes out in January, btw). So it was difficult for me to leave Los Angeles for the length of time that directing an episode would entail.

KONG: "I also had a question about screenwriting. When you're writing dialouge for a character how do you know when you have exactly the right dialouge for that character?"

GOYER: You just have to feel it. In the case of Blade, whom I've written now multiple times, his voice comes fairly easily. When it's a new character, there's a little bit of trial and error.

FREDERICKA, replying to SARAHM writes:

"If you go to www.stevebacic.com, which is the official fansite of the actor who played Frederick, there is a notice that he will be one of the attending guests at DragonCon.

"So, in that vein of thinking, with the proper authorization, would it be okay to distribute flyers at the upcoming DragonCon with the information about the series as well as the time and channel?"

GOYER: With the proper authorization, I'm sure that'd be fine. Just e-mail the people at New Line or Spike.

FREDERICKA: "One other question: If a vampire bites an 'asher' who is on an ash high at the time, does this have any effect on the vampire, i.e., insanity, super strength, intense blood lust, etc.?"

GOYER: Hmmm. Good question. Will have to ponder that for a while.

MARCUSKRISTAFAN writes:

"Question, will the series be for available for purchase on DVD? I am hoping that we get another season as well. I can't wait to see this show grow as well as characters evolving. This is a wonderful show and I hope it is given a fair chance."

GOYER: Yes, the series will be available on DVD. There will likely be a commentary from myself and a few others, as well as other features (bloopers, additional unrated material).

Okay. That's it for now. BTW, most of us DO read these boards. We're taking note of the various threads (even the one talking about inconsistency).

Thanks for watching,

David Goyer
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Nice. Some interesting answers there. I look forward to seeing some Shen backstory at some point. His character hasn't been given too much so far, which is unusual for a sidekick. They always seemed more prominent in the movies.

Good of Goyer to post these replies. It's always appreciated by the fans.
 
Excellent post.

Good points:
1) More focus on Blade, less on Krista
2) Fight scenes should get better
3) Reason they toned down Blade's abilities was to create more tention in the battles
4) DVD will have NUDITY and unreleased stuff.:eek:
5) We need to make sure there is a second season.

To point number 5, I would like to know how we as fans can influence a second season of Blade? There are a ton of stories to develop and Sticky can only get better in the role with time.

off topic: Did you really need to post three threads?
 
Have to say I'm enuthasic about Goyer's views for next year if we get there.
 
From the sounds of things, not as many people are going to be killed off at the end of this season as people might think.
 
This sounds awesome, I'm really looking forward to a second season *fingers crossed*. This sounds like a lot of good news. I think it's safe to say that most of the naysayers for the series are liking it now, with the exception of a few stubborn posters. Well, good luck to them, hope it all works out, and we need to help them by watching.
 
Goyer gave some great answers. I know a lot of people (myself included) him the man a hard time about TRINITY, but he, Johns and the other writers are doing some wonderful things with this show. Here's hoping for Season Two.
 

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