UPDATE: 08/22 – Ubisoft has confirmed via Twitter that it is not developing a Blade game with Marvel. Original story as follows:
Fantastic Four and Blade titles have been heavily rumored to appear at the upcoming Marvel Games Showcase. The Disney & Marvel Games Showcase was announced recently and will take place in tandem with Disney’s D23 Expo this September.
Both the Fantastic Four and Blade are no stranger to gamers, as both appeared in poorly received movie tie-ins for their 90s and 2000s movies, as well as the more successful Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series, and it’s confirmed that Blade will be playable in Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Given how the characters could be returning to the limelight with upcoming movies set in the hugely successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s unsurprising that Marvel would be considering reintroducing them to gaming audiences to coincide with these cinematic releases.
As reported by TheGamer, the rumors surrounding Blade circulated when actor Alex Martin began posting pictures in a Ubisoft motion-capture suit to his Instagram account. Many assumed this would be to do with his role as Knox in Ubisoft’s long-awaited Beyond Good & Evil 2, however – as shared by YouTuber JorRaptor – further pictures with Detroit: Become Human‘s Edwin Gaffney of them holding “blades” and a “Marvel” clapperboard with Bassam Tariq (the director of the upcoming MCU Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali) listed as the director further fed into speculation that Ubisoft could be working on a game featuring Marvel’s famous vampire hunter.
Skydance New Media’s Marvel Game Is Rumored To Be Fantastic Four
It had previously been announced that Uncharted‘s Amy Hennig and her new studio Skydance New Media were working on a Marvel game, promising a narrative-driven action-adventure in keeping with much of Hennig’s past work. The studio’s appearance at the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase has been confirmed, and although nothing has been confirmed yet, writer Marc Bernardin had previously confirmed that he had been writing for Skydance New Media’s Marvel title on his and Kevin Smith’s Fatman Beyond podcast, where many fans were guessing the title in the comments section, and Kevin Smith confirming that one was correct. Although he didn’t say which one, Fantastic Four was mentioned quite often within those comments, with Skydance’s initial announcement having also seemingly hinted at the FF by mentioning the “pulp-adventure genre” – something the group’s adventures fit quite neatly into.
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Given Marvel’s usual penchant for secrecy surrounding its titles, it’s surprising that Alex Martin and Edwin Gaffney would have been allowed to post pictures relating to a Blade title prior to any official announcement. Fans don’t have to wait long to find out if the rumors surrounding Blade and Fantastic Four are accurate, as the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase is due to take place on September 9 and promises updates on several of Marvel’s upcoming games – which may include Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and possibly Marvel’s Wolverine – as well as announcements of new titles.
Sources: Ubisoft/Twitter, TheGamer, Alex Martin/Instagram, Edwin Gaffney/Instagram, JorRaptor/YouTube, Skydance New Media
