Blade will be R-rated, so Mahershala Ali will get to say all of the fun words

Let’s be honest here: We’re not entirely convinced that Marvel Studios’ new Blade movie will ever come out. If Marvel was going to cancel anything ever, it would be this—because it still seems wild they got Mahershala Ali to play Blade, because the movie seems to be having some behind-the-scenes troubles, and because the AMPTP’s refusal to give the actors’ and writers’ unions good contracts came at a very inopportune time for the project. But when it does happen, if it does happen, then it just became significantly more likely that we’ll get to hear Ali’s Blade call somebody a “motherfucker.”

Speaking with Deadline about this new short Dammi, Blade director Yann Demange mentioned that Marvel gave him an R-rating for Blade, which he says is “so important” to making this movie. And to that we say: Hell yeah, that’s some fuckin’ sick-ass shit. As longtime fans of the Daywalker will recall, Wesley Snipes’ Blade had a tendency to throw around the aforementioned “m’er f’er” word. That means it’s relatively crucial to the public perception of the character that he be allowed to say some bad/cool words in this new movie, even if it is part of the traditionally kid-friendly Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Of course, even if it were going to come out, Blade wouldn’t be the first R-rated entry in the MCU. That honor will belong to Deadpool 3, a movie that should come out… eventually. That means Deadpool might get to call someone a emmer-effer before Blade can, which would spoil the fun a bit, but that’s okay. As long as someone says “monkey-fighting monday-to-friday” in a movie partially meant to sell Mickey Mouse dolls and theme park tickets, it’ll be cool.