Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Once again, the mysterious BossHog visited the Labs for a visit this evening, and once again, he's weighing in with some info on a highly anticipated sequel. This time, it's the upcoming BLADE 2. I read an early draft of this script that I liked a lot, but I decided to wait to start talking about it because I know that Guillermo Del Toro and David Goyer have done a hell of a lot of work on that script since then. I'm dying to see what shape the film's in right now, and thanks to our intrepid spy, we've got a look at which characters are going to be important in the new film, along with Whistler and Blade, both of whom are returning. I hope Tchecky Karo is playing the Vampire Overlord mentioned below. He'd be awesome...
[JAREK NOMAK] - Although he can adopt the guise of an average looking man in his late 20s to mid 30s, he is in actuality a terrifying figure, distorted and inhuman. The "carrier" of an AIDS-like virus that is quickly spreading throughout the world. Jarek converts vampires into blood-obsessed "Reapers" intent on their next fix. The vampires’ elite Bloodpack and Blade form an unlikely alliance to hunt Jarek and his Reapers down and destroy them.
[NYSSA] A 20 to 30 something vampire, lean and athletic with strong exotic features, she’s the daughter of the reigning overlord of all the vampires, Eli Damaskinos. A pureblood, Nyssa was born a vampire, not "turned" like so many of her fellows, and she has all the ferocity and keen intelligence of her species. As a member of the elite Bloodpack, Nyssa has been training to battle the Reapers, a highly destructive mutant strain that threatens the vampires’ survival. To fight the common menace, she and her squad must team with Blade, their natural enemy.
[OVERLORD ELI DAMASKINOS] - A 5,000 year old vampire. Impossibly pale and marble-like, he is overwhelmingly powerful, and has survived the centuries through a combination of sheer cunning and absolute ruthlessness. Apparently concerned that the mutant Reapers are threatening the continued survival of the vampire species, Damaskinos proposes an unusual alliance between Blade and his own Bloodpack – an elite corps of vampire commandos, including his own daughter Nyssa. However, as we later realize, Damaskinos is a pathological schemer with an insane secret agenda – a program of mass genocide which he has carefully implemented, step by bloody step.
[SCUD] - A real character, this young weed-sucking stoner dressed in thrift store chic has been Blade’s loyal compadre and electronics geek ever since Blade saved him from a couple of vampire chicks in the desert. Now, Scud helps Blade fight vampires – although, as he himself claims, he’s a lover, not a fighter.
STORY LINE: Blade forms an unlikely alliance with the Bloodpack – a group of elite vampire commandos, including the beautiful NYSSA – to fight a ravening group of mutant marauders, the Reapers, led by the chief carrier of the lethal Reaper virus, JARED NOMAK.
One thing I really liked in the early draft of the script was that the Bloodpack was originally trained with one goal in mind: kill Blade. By putting him in the middle of them, the stakes became spaghetti western crazy. Love it. Can't wait to see what Guillermo's up to. We'll keep you posted as the cast fills in. Until then...
"Moriarty" out.
