Max Announces Release of 3 Iconic Marvel Movies

Three classic Marvel movies from the pre-MCU era just made their way onto Max.

As Marvel Studios falls under the Disney umbrella, the MCU's movies and TV shows all have a direct path to Disney+, with the streamer even expanding its content list in recent years by adding old legacy Marvel films to the service.

But with some Marvel films being produced and distributed by other studios in the past, licensing and contracts for their streaming runs sometimes leads them to other homes such as Hulu, Max, and others.

Marvel Movies Coming to Max

Warner Bros.' Max streaming service confirmed that Wesley Snipes' original Blade trilogy will be available to stream starting on Friday, September 1.

This isn't the first time Marvel content has ended up on a rival streamer, with Marvel Studios' The Incredible Hulk having a brief stint on HBO Max in 2022.

Other Disney-owned movies have also made their way to Warner Bros.' streamer, including mega-hits Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water as a result of a licensing deal to share streaming rights.

1998's Blade introduces Snipes' Eric Brooks, a half-mortal/half-vampire hunter who looks to avenge his mother's death and take out as many vampires as he can across the world. Teaming up with Kris Kristofferson (Abraham Whistler) against Stephen Dorff's Deacon Frost, Blade goes after a group of more modern-day vampires who are after his own blood in order to summon an evil god that will help exterminate humans.

2002's Blade II sees the titular vampire hunter in a new kind of partnership as he's forced to team up with the nightwalkers in order to stop an even more dangerous kind of monster. Snipes joins forces with Kristofferson once again along with newcomers in John Wick 4's Donnie Yen (Snowman), The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus (Scud), and Hellboy's Ron Perlman.

Snipes returns to the fold in 2004's Blade: Trinity, with his leading character being framed for a number of murders as the public turns against him, all while the human/vampire war rages on. Total Recall's Jessica Biel (Abigail Whistler) and fan-favorite Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds (Hannibal King) come into the fray to help Blade in the fight for humanity.

This is the first time that Blade has been available to stream on any service since it was removed from Hulu on December 31, 2022, which came only two months after it dropped on Hulu in October 2022.

Will Blade Trilogy Come To Disney+?

Looking at Blade's streaming future, many will be curious to find out if Wesley Snipes' original trilogy will eventually join other Marvel legacy films from outside the MCU.

The trilogy's R-rating wouldn't be a problem for Disney+ after the streamer recently brought other R-rated films like Logan and the first two Deadpool films online for fans.

But with the trilogy being distributed by New Line Cinema, which most recently co-produced both of Zachary Levi's Shazam! films, the big question is how exactly the films' streaming rights play out between different studios.

With these kinds of contracts typically lasting about two years, the Blade trilogy most likely wouldn't hit Disney+ until sometime in 2025 or later, although the landscape is consistently changing in that regard as well.

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