Kevin Feige went into great detail a while back explaining why Deadpool 3 was the only Marvel Cinematic Universe project in development that would be getting an R-rating, but big changes behind the scenes of the Blade reboot have led fans to speculate that the Daywalker’s troubled return might be getting in on the action.
It’s been a nightmarish existence for the project so far, with Mahershala Ali having been initially confirmed as the leather-clad antihero way back in the summer of 2019. Bassam Tariq was hired to direct two years later, before he dropped out shortly before shooting was scheduled to begin last month, plunging Blade into stasis.
Thankfully, yesterday brought the news that Lovecraft Country helmer Yann Demange would be taking over behind the camera, with Blade even getting a page-on rewrite courtesy of Emmy-nominated When They See Us scribe Michael Starrbury. As overjoyed as folks are to know the film is back on the right track, a URL code has led MCU fanatics down the R-rated rabbit role, and it’s even been changed to add fuel to the fire.
As pointed out on Reddit, the original page breaking the news of Demange’s hiring featured “blade-will-be-r-rated-1235267361” after The Hollywood Reporter‘s standard browser entry. However, if you check back on the article now, the URL has been amended to “blade-marvel-2024-movie-1235267361”. It’s a minor thing, but not much gets past the sleuths of the internet, especially when the MCU is involved.
It could be a mistake, it could be a reveal that wasn’t supposed to be made, but we’ll find out sooner rather than later now that Blade is up and running again.