Back in the early 2000s, comic book movies were a big risk to bring to the big screen. It was always a gamble when trying to see whether it would be a success or not. Nowadays, it seems to be the go-to kind of movies if you want success. That, or just make it a story with a Superman-like villain and everyone else is the underdog. That seems to be the emerging trend nowadays with the successful superhero movies being released. 20 years ago, there were many formulas being tried out. After all, different superheroes live in different environments and have different supporting casts with varying personalities and traits. Blade was one of these movies. It was a Marvel movie where the hero fought vampires. The first movie was released in 1998, to great success. Some credit it as the movie that ushered in the era of the modern comic book movie. The second movie was released in 2002, and although critics did not like it as much as the first, it stands out as the best Blade movie released so far among fans. The third movie was released in 2004. This movie was where it all fell apart. Many issues plagued production and the final product ended up being less than impressive. The plot, the characters and the overall quality of the project was rejected, and one of the most prominent complaints is that it focused more on the Night Stalkers than Blade. It would be interesting to know that the story that came out was not the original plan for it. The story was going to be much darker, much more sinister, and that is what this article is going to shed light on.
1. The Setting
Blade 3, also known as Blade: Trinity, did not go that much further in time from Blade 2. Since the movies did not go through time the same way we did in real life, there is no telling exactly how long it had been between the two movies. We know that it was at least months, or maybe even a year. The movie took place in what we could consider present day, with the humans still unaware of what creature really is the apex predator of the world. People still go about their daily lives and go about their business as usual. The setting in the original plan for the movie was entirely different. The third movie was to be set 40 years after Blade 2. The movie would have the vampires finally achieve world domination and have humans as their food which they could consume whenever they wanted, like livestock. The vampires would have found a way to block out the sun for longer than usual, keeping them fully powered and capable for longer periods of time. Blade would have been missing for those years, and the story would be kicked off by people who had set out to find him. Once they did find him, he would go back to fighting the vampires in order to save the world from them.
2. What Happened
The usual explanation for why such coo-sounding ideas like this did not make it into the final cut is studio interference. This time, it was something a little more frustrating but relatable, given the time and the intention behind it. The director of the movie, David S. Goyer, who also served as the screenwriter for the previous entries in the trilogy, said that he decided not to use it because it was too dark, too dramatic and too fantastical compared to the more grounded movies that he had written before. The movie was also compared to I Am Legend when talking about how deep and dark it was. From the final product, we can see that he was aiming to make the movie a little more fun, given that he clashed with Wesley Snipes over the direction of the movie and did not allow any of his ideas to be implemented despite him being a producer (according to Snipes).
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