This Iconic Director Made Marvel’s Best R-Rated Movie 14 Years Before Deadpool (2024)

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  • Deadpool Revitalized The Industry

  • Blade II Helped Define Comic Book Movies

  • Guillermo del Toro Was Key To Blade II

  • Guillermo del Toro is Known for Monster Stories

The success of Deadpool & Wolverine has been a much-needed boon for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The third Deadpool movie reintroduced countless characters from the 20th Century Fox movies, including X-Men, Fantastic Four, and even Elektra. It brought fresh eyes to classic movies, even if they proved disappointing in their time. The R-rated hit even managed to introduce a darker side of each of the characters. Not all of the cameo characters were new to the world of R-rated movies, however. Blade was already there.

The Blade trilogy ran from 1998 to 2004, bringing worldwide interest to an otherwise overlooked character. As fun as Deadpool & Wolverine was, it still failed to live up to the impact of 2002's Blade II, which proved to be a box office success and a critical darling. It also had an acclaimed director attached, who made the movie even better than the Deadpool movies.

Deadpool Revitalized The Industry

Deadpool is known as being a franchise that redefined modern comic book movies. It proved that R-rated superhero movies could succeed and that dark humor could work just as well as Joss Whedon's style comedy, which shone brightly in The Avengers. R-rated movies about superheroes, including Watchmen (2009), Super (2010), and Kick-Ass (2012) certainly existed before Deadpool's 2016 release, but the Fox-led effort proved to be a financial juggernaut. Check out the chart below, which showcases the box office success of every movie in the franchise.

Title

Budget

Worldwide Box Office

Deadpool (2016)

$58 million

$783 million

Deadpool 2 (2018)

$110 million

$786 million

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

$200 million

$1.3 billion

The box office success was breathtaking and proved that R-rated movies have just as much potential as traditionally rated releases. Its unrepentant sense of humor used cruel jokes, vulgarity, and constant sex-related comments to keep audiences engaged, which helped it shine, compared to many otherwise serious movies. Kick-Ass was a hint at what R-rated hero movies could bring, but Deadpool took the next necessary step. Its satirical nature means that it parodied ordinary hero movies, but it also served to draw in audiences who may not necessarily like the general style of Marvel or X-Men movies. That made it more of an exception than a rule.

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Blade II Helped Define Comic Book Movies

If Deadpool existed to make fun of traditional hero tropes, Blade II was something entirely different. Building on the legacy of the original Blade movie, it instead offered an earnest response to the blockbuster. While it certainly did feature some comedy, it leaned further into action, horror, and suspense as its main draw. Instead of showcasing Wesley Snipe's Blade continuing his war with the vampires, he is forced to align himself with his ancient enemy to defeat the Reapers. It was a fun twist on an easily repeatable narrative and made for a fascinating concept.

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It also featured a genuine anti-hero struggling to defeat his enemies. While that might be similar to Deadpool, the movie featured a massive difference in its treatment of its leading man: It took him seriously. Rather than having Blade constantly making fun of himself, he instead goes to war with the Reapers and deems their deaths an emotional issue. Unfortunately, the box office results were another difference between the two franchises. Blade never saw nearly the same financial success:

Title

Budget

Worldwide Box Office

Adjusted for Inflation

Blade (1998)

$45 million

$131 million

$255 million

Blade II (2002)

$54 million

$155 million

$275 million

Blade: Trinity (2004)

$65 million

$132 million

$224 million

It also struggled to earn positive responses from critics. It currently sits at a 57% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 68% audience-led Popcornmeter score. The average ratings, however, were higher. The average critic rated the movie a 6.0 out of 10, while audiences gave a general score of 3.7 out of 5. Both marks are higher, making for an average response that was fairly positive. The fights themselves earned much of the praise, alongside Snipe's compelling performance and Guillermo del Toro's skill as a director.

Because it came so early in the history of comic book movies, Blade II proved to be a lasting and influential movie. After all, it came just after the X-Men universe began and just as the first Spider-Man trilogy was being released. It proved that superheroes could be taken seriously and that R-rated Marvel movies were a viable product. Deadpool might never have been approved — even with Ryan Reynolds' leaked test footage — without the proof that success was possible even with a mature rating. It is no wonder that Deadpool & Wolverine reintroduced Wesley Snipes' Blade.

Guillermo del Toro Was Key To Blade II

This Iconic Director Made Marvel’s Best R-Rated Movie 14 Years Before Deadpool (3)

The success of Blade II is not solely attributable to its leading man at all, though Wesley Snipes was certainly an excellent Blade. Guillermo del Toro was also the perfect director for the franchise. Del Toro never had any substantial release before he joined Blade II, having only directed 1992's Cronos, Mimic (1997), and The Devil's Backbone (2001). New Line Cinema was taking a massive risk by appointing him as the head of a $54 million movie. Yet, the studio had few choices after Blade director Stephen Norrington refused to return for a sequel.

Norrington signed on to many other projects over the years, including The Crow, Ghost Rider, and Clash of the Titans, but he only went on to direct The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) and The Last Minute (2001) before retiring.

Del Toro's directing style proved to be the perfect match, however. He has always showcased a love for monsters, and the Reapers were a fairly unique invention for any comic book movie. They were del Toro's most terrifying creation and somehow managed to outshine the once-dominant vampire threat. They remain a visually impressive threat with a compelling origin that tied them directly to the titular hero. If del Toro had not been attached, it is difficult to see the franchise settling on the same emotional note of vampires striking back against Blade with an even more haunting threat. His ability to connect with monsters is essential for the entire concept of the movie.

Guillermo del Toro is Known for Monster Stories

This Iconic Director Made Marvel’s Best R-Rated Movie 14 Years Before Deadpool (4)

Guillermo del Toro has made a name for himself with monster movies. He earned 13 nominations and four Oscars at the Academy Awards for The Shape of Water (2017), agreed to direct two Hellboy movies, and is currently working on developing a Frankenstein adaptation. He has always loved working with nonhuman creatures that possess surprisingly human personalities and characteristics. Attaching himself to an extraordinary comic book movie about the Daywalker — a vampiric man who wants nothing more than to kill vampires — fills both of those niches.

  • Guillermo del Toro also directed 2013's Pacific Rim and 2022's Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities.

Blade was already a success before del Toro joined the franchise, but it is hard to deny that it is a natural fit for the director. While there was a mixed reception from critics, the box office performance proved that the franchise was not simply a one-hit wonder. If Blade II had failed, it is completely possible that the modern era of R-rated box office wonders would never have come to pass. Yet, del Toro ensured its success by creating a haunting and emotional setting with fascinating fights and extreme stakes. Deadpool has only been able to run because Blade walked before it, and that is exactly why Deadpool & Wolverine honored the iconic director's work.

This Iconic Director Made Marvel’s Best R-Rated Movie 14 Years Before Deadpool (5)

6

10

Blade II

R

Action

Adventure

Science Fiction

Blade forms an uneasy alliance with the vampire council in order to combat the Reapers, who are feeding on vampires.

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Director
Guillermo del Toro

Release Date
March 22, 2002

Cast
Wesley Snipes , Kris Kristofferson , Ron Perlman

Writers
Marv Wolfman , Gene Colan , David S. Goyer

Runtime
117 minutes

Main Genre
Action

Production Company
New Line Cinema, Amen Ra Films Marvel Enterprises
This Iconic Director Made Marvel’s Best R-Rated Movie 14 Years Before Deadpool (2024)
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