Recently, three classic Marvel movies from the pre-MCU era have made their way onto Max, a popular streaming platform. Given that Marvel Studios is now a part of the Disney family, all of the MCU’s movies and TV shows can be found on Disney+ with ease. In fact, Disney+ has even expanded its content list in recent years by adding old legacy Marvel films to the service. However, some Marvel movies were produced and distributed by other studios in the past, which can lead to licensing and contract issues when it comes to streaming. As a result, certain movies may find their way to other homes such as Hulu, Max, and other platforms.

Marvel Movies Coming to Max

The Max streaming service, owned by Warner Bros., has recently confirmed that fans of the original Blade trilogy will be able to stream the iconic movies starting on Friday, September 1. The first installment, released in 1998, introduces viewers to Wesley Snipes’ character, Eric Brooks, a half-human, half-vampire hunter who embarks on a perilous journey to avenge his mother’s death and eradicate as many vampires as he can across the globe. Together with the help of Kris Kristofferson’s Abraham Whistler, they must take down the nefarious Deacon Frost, played by Stephen Dorff, who is leading a group of modern-day vampires in their mission to summon an evil god that will bring about the extinction of humanity.

In the second installment, Blade II, we see Snipes’ character in a new kind of alliance as he is forced to team up with the very creatures he hunts in order to defeat a new and more deadly threat. Joining forces once again with Kristofferson, the movie also introduces new characters played by John Wick 4’s Donnie Yen as Snowman, The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus as Scud, and Hellboy’s Ron Perlman.

The third and final installment of the trilogy, Blade: Trinity, sees Snipes’ character framed for several murders as the public turns against him while the war between humans and vampires rages on. Jessica Biel, known for her role in Total Recall, joins the cast as Abigail Whistler, and fan-favorite Ryan Reynolds stars as Hannibal King. Together, they help Blade fight for the survival of humanity.

This marks the first time that the Blade trilogy has been available to stream on any service since it was removed from Hulu in December 2022, only two months after its initial release on the platform in October of the same year. Fans of the iconic series can now once again enjoy the thrilling action and suspense that made Blade a cult classic.

Will Blade Trilogy Come To Disney+?

When examining the future of Blade’s streaming availability, an inquiry that’s likely to arise is whether the original trilogy starring Wesley Snipes will eventually be added to the collection of other Marvel legacy films outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the trilogy’s R-rating, Disney+ wouldn’t be impeded from featuring it, seeing as they have recently added other R-rated movies like Logan and the first two Deadpool films to their platform in order to cater to fans. However, since the trilogy is distributed by New Line Cinema, which has most recently co-produced both of Zachary Levi’s Shazam! films, the question is how the streaming rights of the films will be handled between different studios. Normally, these kinds of contracts last for around two years, which would mean that the Blade trilogy probably wouldn’t be available on Disney+ until at least 2025 or later. Even so, the streaming landscape is consistently evolving, so it’s possible that new developments could alter this timeline in the future.

The Blade trilogy will begin streaming on Max on Friday, September 1, and the original Blade is already streaming on Netflix.