There’s no shortage of projects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the way. While fans are enjoying new characters like Shang-Chi and the Eternals being introduced to the MCU, there are still so many more to come. Chief among those new additions is the vampire hunter Blade. Blade is one of the few Marvel characters not part of the X-Men franchise to have a trilogy of movies and a television series released before the MCU got off the ground. Now, he’s joining the MCU with Mahershala Ali in the title role.
The comic book character has gone through a few changes over the years, but the pieces of his story that different adaptations have in common is the Blade has the vampire venom in him since his birth as his mother was bitten during her pregnancy. He’s also a rare vampire - a daywalker - who hunts other vampires, trying to make the world a better place. Just what storyline his MCU project will entail is being kept mostly under wraps with only a vague summary of who Blade is released so far. Considering his rich comic book history, and the possibility of his story crossing over with other characters already in the MCU, there are quite a few interesting candidates from Marvel comics to appear in his movie.
Jamal Afari
Jamal Afari is not a character who appeared in the previous Blade movies, though he’s very important to the character’s backstory. Instead, the character of Whistler was created for the big screen who shared a lot of similarities with Afari. With Delroy Lindo recently cast in the upcoming movie, some fans might be speculating that the MCU will include Afari with Lindo playing a version of the character.
Afari spends much of his youth as a vampire hunter in Harlem, but it’s when he begins to age that he realizes he can’t continue hunting forever. He becomes a jazz musician, and when a group of vampires attempt to take their revenge on him, Eric Brooks, the future Blade, saves his life. Afari ends up teaching the young man everything he knows, mentoring him, until they had to go their separate ways when Eric accidentally killed a man instead of a vampire. Afari ended up being turned by Dracula, Afari’s long-time nemesis. If the movie delves into Blade’s origins, Afari is a must-include.
Dane Whitman
Audiences were recently introduced to Dane Whitman in Eternals. The character didn’t have a lot to do in that movie as he was introduced as Sersi’s love interest, though his future is teased in a credit scene. It’s during that scene that Dane also already crossed paths with Blade, even if the audience didn’t see him. Ali lent his voice to the scene, which makes it seem like the audience is in for at least one storyline featuring the two.
Fans anticipate that the Midnight Sons, a supernatural comic book team that has had numerous rosters, will eventually make its way to the MCU. With characters like Blade, Moon Knight, Agatha Harkness, and more in the universe, there’s no shortage of characters associated with the supernatural. Dane Whitman could easily end up as a member of that team, even though he’s more often associated with the Avengers in the comics. Seeing some sort of friendship following from their first encounter could be a step toward that.
Wong
Initially, fans didn’t get to see Wong as much more than another sorcerer who associated with Doctor Strange. His recent MCU appearances, however, have demonstrated that he’s busy cultivating his own relationships in the movies. Not only does he fight against the Abomination in an underground match, but he also seeks out Shang-Chi and Katy on Avengers business. It’s clear he’s going to be popping up in movies that aren’t just involving Doctor Strange.
A good choice, even if it ends up just being a cameo, is Blade. That’s because one version of a Midnight Sons team-up in the comics involves Wong leading the group against a supernatural threat. Something similar could play out in the MCU while the Avengers are more concerned with extraterrestrials or the future time-traveling villain Kang. Wong could easily make a stop by Blade’s movie to see if he, and perhaps Dane Whitman, are interested in helping him out.
Hannibal King
A private investigator, Hannibal King was very good at his job… even after he was bitten by a vampire. When he and Blade crossed paths, the latter didn’t initially trust him, but they did end up teaming up. In fact, Hannibal King became part of the Nightstalkers, an investigative team, with Blade. He even refused to use his vampire abilities in his investigations. He’s also worked with the Midnight Sons on occasion. Hannibal and Blade share a common enemy: the same vampire that created Hannibal was responsible for the death of Blade’s mother. That’s enough to bond them, and it’s a compelling reason to see them unite on the big screen.
Fans of the original trilogy will remember that Ryan Reynolds brought Hannibal to life, largely as the comic relief role in the action-packed movies. Hannibal serves a similar role in the comics, so he would certainly bring some levity to whatever story the writers decide to tell.
Lilith Drake
Lilith Drake, not to be confused with the Mother of all Monsters, is the daughter of Dracula. Whether or not the MCU can actually use Dracula isn’t entirely clear - nor is whether they would want to. They might not want comparisons to the Monsterverse that never quite seemed to get going.
Using Lilith instead of Dracula would add a compelling female villain to the MCU, something it’s sorely lacking. Blade’s comic book stories also tend to relegate female characters to love interests and clients, so there aren’t quite as many regularly appearing female characters. Lilith was actually a client who double-crossed Blade at one point, and she battled Hannibal in separate stories as well. She could make a great villain in the Blade movie, or even in a later Midnight Sons team-up as Blade teases her future in the MCU.