Mahershala Ali's vampire hunter, Eric Brooks aka Blade the Daywalker, has yet to make his big debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans got a small tease of the upcoming Marvel Studios character in the post-credits stinger of 2021's Eternals, but it was merely Ali's voice offscreen, issuing a warning to Kit Harrington's Dane Whitman.
In fact, the MCU's Blade film doesn't even have a confirmed release date, but a director has been lined up in Bassam Tariq and filming is reportedly set to kick off in August 2022. Watchmen scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour is also on board as the film's head writer.
Of course, Blade doesn't always work alone in the comics. Sometimes, he's s member of the Midnight Sons, a supernatural and horror-themed superhero team. And now, it seems that Marvel Studios' Blade might have a different kind of team in the works and perhaps even a big bad.
Casting Audition With A Vampire
According to Murphy's Multiverse, Marvel Studios is looking to cast two roles in the upcoming Blade: A character with the placeholder name of "Abid" and a woman named "Faiza."
The outlet speculates that, based on the character description of a "burly" individual who has "taken a vow of silence," that Abid might be the comic character Taj Nital. Similarly, evidence points to Faiza being Rachel van Helsing, the daughter of legendary vampire hunter Abraham van Helsing.
It seems that when applying basic logic and comic book knowledge, that these two characters might team up with Blade in the film to take on Dracula, as has been done in the pages of the books.
A Lean, Mean, Vampire-Fighting Team
Of course, the above conclusion relies on a few leaps in logic, but they're relatively small leaps at best. Murphy points out that Marvel typically casts roles simultaneously for characters that will be working together in the story.
It would be quite cool to see a bit of a team-up effort in Blade, maybe even one that pulls in Dane Whitman and his Ebony Blade. Characters like Moon Knight (Oscar Issac) could easily join in the fun as well. In fact, there's a popular internet meme that sees Moon Knight tracking down Dracula in humorous fashion.
Whatever is in store for Blade in the MCU, the film could potentially make its way to release in 2023, so stay tuned for further updates!
