Blade: Kevin Feige casts doubt on R rating for Marvel reboot

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

On Wednesday, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige stepped away from the Atlanta set of Ms. Marvel to take part in his first-ever TCA panel. While addressing the online audience, Feige informed the group that production for Ms. Marvel is almost a wrap and that filming for She-Hulk starts in just a few weeks. Once production on She-Hulk has concluded, shooting for Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight will begin shortly thereafter.

Later in the presentation, Feige reiterated that Marvel is in the process of developing Deadpool 3 with Ryan Reynolds and that the film will be rated R. However, Marvel is not about to go hog wild concerning age-restricted content. "We have never been held back by it," Feige said about the studio producing films with PG-13 ratings. "If we ever are, then certainly there could be a discussion to be had …. but that just hasn't been the case yet."

Naturally, the above quote has raised concerns about Marvel's reboot of Blade, starring Mahershala Ali as the legendary Daywalker. Many fans feel as if Blade has to be rated R, though it appears they might be barking up the wrong tree. Marvel has a long-standing history of making the PG-13 rating work for them, and there's little reason to think that Blade needs to be rated R to be good. The way I see it, Marvel wants their movies to be seen by as many people as possible. This includes fans of all ages. After all, you don't get to be at the top of the mountain without slapping your best and brightest characters on a boatload of merchandise to be sold at department stores and concession counters. This tried-and-true marketing strategy includes characters like Blade, and to think that Ali can't pull off a worthwhile Daywalker while adhering to a PG-13 rating is foolish. Ali will kill it regardless. You know this.

This is just my opinion, of course, and I completely understand if you disagree. What do you think about Blade's chances of becoming an R-rated affair? Will Marvel stick to their guns and plan for Blade to be PG-13 or will they cave to fan pressure and make an exception as they did for Deadpool 3? Tell us how you think this will all shake out in the comments section below.