Blade: 10 Ways Mahershala Ali’s Vampire Hunter Could Fit Into The MCU – Screen Rant

With Mehershala Ali announced as the MCU's Blade, fans have been trying to decide where the vampire hunter would fit in with the other characters.

At last summers Comic-Con, Marvel Studios announced the post-Avengers: Endgame slate for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to exciting upcoming films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder, the panel brought the announcement that Mahershala Ali had been cast to play Blade in the MCU.

RELATED:5 Reasons We're Excited About Mahershala Ali's Blade (& 5 Why Marvel Should've Kept Wesley Snipes In The Role)

While some Marvel fans felt that original Blade star Wesley Snipes got short-changed by the recasting, two-time Oscar winner Ali playing the iconic vampire hunter is certainly a tantalizing prospect for the MCUs future. So, here are 10 ways that Mahershala Alis Blade could fit into the MCU.

With Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch ripping open the multiverse and exploring parallel dimensions in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the most obvious way to introduce Blade seems to be via an alternate timeline.

He could come from a world where Thanos never existed, but Earth is ravaged by vampires. This would allow him to exist separately from the MCU while still taking place in the same universe.

Its not exactly clear what Nick Fury is up to now, but the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home seemed to tease that he has big plans. At the moment, hes on a command ship with some Skrulls, possibly establishing S.W.O.R.D., and after that, he might return to Earth to recruit the next generation of Avengers.

He could recognize vampires as a threat facing the planet, find an ice-cool vampire slayer named Blade whos been taking care of them, and recruit him to join the team.

The 1990s setting of Captain Marvel opened up the MCU to all kinds of storytelling opportunities. These movies arent beholden to setting their stories after Tony Stark became Iron Man and the Avengers Initiative took effect.

Blade couldve been fighting vampires long before Tony was kidnapped by terrorists, or even before Coulsons first rodeo. The skys the limit.

Since the announcement that Blade will be joining the MCU, some fans have suggested that vampires might be a step too far for a franchise that already has aliens, robots, sorcerers, gods, and zombies (technically).

RELATED:Thor: 5 Ways The Franchise Was Disappointing Before Ragnarok (& 5 Ways Ragnarok Improved It)

But those fans forget that the existence of vampires in the MCU has already been teased, as Korg mentioned them in Thor: Ragnarok. This mightve initially been a way for Taika Waititi to link Ragnarok to What We Do in the Shadows, but its a good springboard for the rise of the MCUs vampire population.

In Avengers: Endgame, Earths mightiest heroes created a bunch of alternate timelines. There was the timeline where Loki escaped arrest after the Battle of New York by stealing the Space Stone, the timeline where Cap lived a full and happy life with Peggy, the timeline where Thors hammer was stolen by a different version of Thor etc.

Vampires couldve come about in one of these alternate timelines as opposed to the main timeline. It doesnt necessarily have to be directly linked to the events of Endgame just blame it on the butterfly effect.

Its unclear if the Netflix series are still canon after they all got canceled and Disney+ launched with the promise of MCU shows that will actually tie into the movies. But hopefully, we havent seen the last of characters like Daredevil and the Punisher.

This darker corner of the MCU would be the perfect place for Blade. It already has supernatural elements, thanks to the Hand, so bringing in vampires wouldnt be too much of a stretch.

Onfour separate occasions in the MCUs recent history, unprecedented amounts of cosmic energy have rippled across the universe, and three of them took place on Earth, as Thanos snapped his fingers with the might of all six Infinity Stones, and then the Hulk and Iron Man each did the same.

Perhaps a repercussion of the Stones being used in such quick succession could be the rise of the undead and vampires beginning to take over the world.

The introduction of Blade could lead to a wider introduction of the Midnight Sons. As long as the MCU is adding a darker side to its ensemble with a vampire-slaying badass, he could be joined by teammates like Ghost Rider and Moon Knight.

RELATED:10 Blade Storylines We Want To See In The MCU

With Adrian Toomes appearing in Sonys upcoming Morbius movie, Jared Letos bloodsucker might even have a chance of appearing in an MCU incarnation of the Midnight Sons.

Theres a rumor that the Darkhold, a paranormal book featured in the Marvel universe, will appear in either WandaVision or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, holding the key to Visions return from the dead.

Of course, that is just a rumor. But if the Darkhold does make an appearance in the MCU, it could be a good way to introduce vampires into the franchises already-jampacked world.

Just because Blade is joining the MCU, it doesnt mean he has to fight alongside the Avengers and team up with a bunch of fellow heroes. His life of fighting hordes of vampires in an undergroundsupernaturalsociety can exist separately from the rest of the MCU.

There can still be the occasional team-up and Blade can appear in Avengers movies in fact, thats the most enticing prospect about his introduction into the MCU but for his own stories, he can remain in a mostly standalone world.

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Ben Sherlock is a writer, filmmaker, and comedian. In addition to writing for Screen Rant and CBR, covering a wide range of topics from Spider-Man to Scorsese, Ben directs independent films and takes to the stage with his standup material. He's currently in pre-production on his feature directorial debut (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema and BabbleTop.

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Blade: 10 Ways Mahershala Ali's Vampire Hunter Could Fit Into The MCU - Screen Rant

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