Could Helstrom Release Date Tease Start of the Dark MCU?

At long last, Marvel fans now know an approximate time when Hulu's Helstrom is going to be released — and the timing is exceptional. During a virtual advertising convention of sorts Monday, the streamer revealed Helstrom will be a part of its "Huluween" offering, the annual event when the service reveals horror-based programming to coincide with Halloween. While Hulu stopped short of revealing an exact date, it did confirm the Huluween details, which runs throughout the entire month of October.

If the company does a similar event to what it did last year, "Huluween" was technically a specific section on the app with spooky movies and television shows with everything available throughout the month. Despite the show having wrapped all the way back in February, it seems a nine-month wait might be exceptionally long — so let's speculate on why that could be.

First and foremost, October is the perfect time to release the property featuring Daimon and Satan Hellstrom, one which we've heard will be "scary as f-ck," unlike any other Marvel property currently on the market. But we can't stop theorizing there — we need to go further. We are, after all, master theorists here on ComicBook.com.

By now, it's safe to say the majority of post-production on the series is already done. For all we know, the entire series could already be in the can — unless some drastic liberties with the storytelling takes place, it's not something that should involve effects-heavy shots among the cosmos or anything of the nature. What if there was another reason Marvel was waiting to release the show? A little something that has to deal with a corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe many fans have long-waited to see flourish.

It wasn't all too long ago when some suspected Marvel Studios was holding out an October date in 2022 for Mahershala Ali's Blade reboot. The logic is pretty thin basing things off of dates but hear us out. There was one time Bob Iger confirmed Marvel Studios — and Disney, for that matter — would entertain R-rated properties so long as there was a good way to convey to that to the masses. What if one of those ways is a regular release schedule in October to coincide with Halloween?

By now you should know that Hulu is virtually wholly owned by the House of Mouse. Despite Disney and Marvel Studios putting a significant investment into Disney+, a reasonable person would think they wouldn't rob Hulu of all Marvel content. And therein lies a big reason where Hulu could serve as the basis for the "Dark Marvel Cinematic Universe," properties too adult for a PG-13 rating on the silver screen or for inclusion on Disney+.

As of now, we're going off a soft confirmation Helstrom is an October release and nothing but speculation that Blade will actually be ready to go by October 2022. Sooner or later, however, Marvel will have to release R-rated adult content (see Deadpool) and focusing on the House of Idea's spookier characters for the foreseeable future might just be the kickstart the company needs.

Helstrom is set for release later this year. Blade has yet to set a release date.