Marvel Regains Movie Rights To Blade, Ghost Rider, and Punisher
I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe is awesome, and I love where Marvel is trying to take it. Unfortunately, well before Marvel came up with their own shared universe, they had licensed out rights to certain properties to other studios. That’s why Sony keeps making Spider-Man movies and why Fox definitely won’t be quitting on X-Men anytime soon — they want to keep holding on to these money-making rights in an environment where superhero movies are thriving. But what about some of those other Marvel properties that aren’t being exploited?
In the latest Entertainment Weekly, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that they have reacquired some of the movie rights to some of their characters and associated content. Specifically, Blade, Ghost Rider, and the Punisher are now back in Marvel’s hands, joining Daredevil, another recent return. This isn’t surprising, as either these characters’ most recent films didn’t perform well or no future films were being planned. The other studios let go of the rights because they weren’t using them.
Admittedly, Feige says Marvel has enough on their plate, so they’re in no rush to make new movies with these characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t enter the MCU for a while, since all three of these characters aren’t very attached to the Avengers members and would need to be brought in quite tangentially. I’m more interested in seeing X-Men, Fantastic Four, or Spider-Man incorporated into the MCU, especially after hearing rumors about Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Source: io9