2019 has officially been the year of the useless online petition. The web’s latest effort to get signatures revolves around the idea that fans can convince Marvel to make the Blade reboot R-rated like the originals. There’s a very solid chance that this will happen, but the Internet entreaty likely won’t factor into the decision even a little bit.
It makes sense for the upcoming flick to be given such a restrictive rating, though. The original comic revolves around Eric Brooks, who’s considered a Daywalker vampire. Since he’s able to survive during the day, the superhero dedicates his life to eliminating demonic forces that threaten all of humanity. It’s easy to see how a movie like this can easily become bloody and violent.
Then again, Marvel Studios has never produced an R-rated franchise while under Disney’s umbrella. The Deadpool series kicked off before the transaction was complete, so no one really balked when the sequel was similarly rated.
Rebooting a franchise for the first time in years with an R-rating may be a little bit riskier for a company that mostly makes films for children. Such a movie will almost definitely draw out the usual crowd of moms who will get angry over anything, but will also bring in tons of older viewers who want to see some gore and action.
In a meeting with Disney executives, CEO Bob Iger reportedly once said that “there may be an opportunity for an R-rated Marvel brand as long as we let audiences know what’s coming.” While the quote is in reference to Deadpool, the same logic probably applies to Eric Brooks as well.
In any case, it’ll be interesting to see if Marvel decides to let Blade go for an R-rating or plays it safe by shooting for a PG-13. Either way though, it’s pretty much guaranteed that this online petition isn’t going to factor into the decision at all.