Blade: Kevin Feige Teases R Rating

Deadpool & Wolverine is a first for Marvel Studios on several fronts. It’s the first project to feature characters once owned by 20th Century Fox in a major role, and it’s the first R-rated project released by the Burbank-based outfit. As it turns out, the threequel is going to be a bit of a trendsetter as Marvel’s Kevin Feige now suggests Blade will carry an adult rating as well. In one new interview on the Deadpool & Wolverine press tour, the megaproducer said R ratings are “inherent” with certain characters in the Marvel stable, Blade being one of them.

“The last few years we’ve been trying to crack that movie and the most important thing for us is not rushing it, and making the right Blade movie because there was some great Blade movies years ago and they were all rated R,” Feige told BlackTree TV. “So I think that’s inherent with a character like Blade.”

Why is Blade delayed?

Blade’s been one of the more troubled productions in the Marvel Studios umbrella, having seen its release date delayed several times. One iteration of the film saw it as a period piece, though it’s unclear if the newest version will still follow a similar story.

“They really care,” Blade star Mia Goth previously said of the delays. “They do. They want to make a great movie, that’s the sense that I get from them, and that feels good.”

The film has had a series of writers involved and two directors, Basim Tariq and Yann Demange, have departed the project. It’s unclear what direction Marvel Studios will now go with when it comes to the director’s chair, though John Wick helmer Chad Stahelski has expressed interest.

“Marvel was very influential in my career. I owe them a great deal. Kevin [Feige] is an awesome guy and I’ve worked for him many times on second unit,” the director told ComicBook in 2022. “After John Wick 3, he was nice enough to carve out a big chunk of time and have nice talk. He’s been a…in a way…a very strong mentor, even though it was a short period of time. I’ve only talked to him a few times, but he has been very influential in mindset and how to do it.”

“And he actually asked me, ‘What could we ever do?’ I was like, ‘Look, I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t know if I fit that kind of studio mold, but Blade would be the one interesting thing I’d like to do,’” Stahelski added.

Blade is currently set to hit theaters on November 7, 2025.