Wesley Snipes famously played Blade in three movies – Blade, Blade II, and Blade: Trinity – between 1998 and 2004. His version of the vampire hunter faced some formidable villains, including Deacon Frost, Jared Nomak, and Drake, who was a version of Dracula.
Blade is now coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Mahershala Ali set to take on the iconic role in the franchise in 2025. Ali’s Daywalker is set to show a ruthless side to the actor never seen before, but which villains from Marvel’s comic books could Ali’s version of Blade take on in the MCU? This piece will look at six possible candidates.
Draconis
Draconis was a young acolyte working for the church when he encountered a vampire who turned him into a creature of the night. Ironically, despite being an unholy monster, he became a priest and, through controlled exposure to the various things that hurt and kill vampires, was nurtured by the creatures to become immune to them all. His life’s mission was to destroy Blade, and he succeeded in their first battle, staking the vampire hunter through the heart.
On another day, Blade would’ve died, but he survived due to wearing a protective mystical amulet. Having a character this formidable as Blade’s first opponent in the MCU would be epic. Fans of the franchise have yet to see a villain whose sole purpose and design is to kill the eponymous hero.
Vampire X
Featuring in the Ultimate Marvel universe, Vampire X was originally a vampire hunter named Anthony. He wasn’t just any vampire hunter; he was the only one more prolific in killing them than Blade, and he taught the likes of Blade, Stick, and Daredevil to fight them. However, the creatures of the night eventually turned him into one of their own, and he became the dangerous Vampire X. He made it his mission to unify various vampire clans to fight for their cause, which included eradicating Blade.
He even stole one of Tony Stark’s old armored suits to carry out his evil deeds during the day, which would be a fantastic link to the wider MCU if he did that in live-action. Having Blade’s tutor as his villain would be brilliant – and having him wear one of Iron Man’s armors to fight the Daywalker would be spectacular.
Lucas Cross
Lucas Cross is Blade’s father. Having been falsely imprisoned and diagnosed with terminal cancer, he allowed himself to become a vampire, as it was the only way he believed he’d see his wife and son again. The predictable outcome was that he became a villain to his son and actively sought him out years after being transformed to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
He captured Blade, chained him up, and starved him, tempting him with the blood of a virgin girl, which would have restored his soul. However, Blade escapes and finds a loophole by draining Draconis of his blood, killing him. This complex familial connection between Blade and his antagonist would give a live-action Blade movie some serious substance and depth.
Morbius
Live-action movie fans should already be familiar with Morbius, as he’s been depicted in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, played by Jared Leto in an eponymous film. He also appeared in a deleted scene from Blade – available as an extra on the movie’s home release – as he was intended to be an antagonist in that trilogy’s future. It would be great to see Blade and Morbius finally face off in live-action in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Morbius is a vampire, but not in the traditional sense.
He’s an energy vampire who became such through an experiment gone wrong. His history with Blade is colorful, as he’s fought alongside and against the hero – even drinking from him on one occasion. The multiversal nature of the MCU means Mahershala Ali’s Blade could fight Leto’s version of the character or an MCU original version. Either would be cool.
Varnae
Varnae was the first vampire to exist. He was an Atlantean sorcerer in ancient times before Atlantis was submerged underwater. As the city sank, he used the Darkhold to transform into a vampire to survive the disaster and continue his evil work on the surface world. As the oldest vampire in existence, his powers are superior to other creatures of the night.
When you factor in his mystical abilities as a sorcerer, it’s clear he’s a formidable villain. He most famously came into conflict with Blade when he chose the vampire hunter as his new host body – a story that would be awesome to see depicted in the live-action MCU. His ties to Namor’s home of Atlantis would be cool, and it would be an excellent way to show vampires had existed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for centuries.
Lilith Drake
According to recent unconfirmed rumors, Blade will be an R-rated period piece with Lilith Drake as the main villain. Lilith is Dracula’s daughter, paving the way for the Count to appear in future installments. The rumor suggests she’ll target Blade’s daughter to use her blood to create an army of Daywalkers and that her weapon is the Ebony Blade, previously seen in Eternals – and that makes sense, as Mahershala Ali made an uncredited voice cameo as Blade in the film that suggested a familiarity with the weapon.
Lilith possesses all of the strengths of vampires on a larger scale but none of their weaknesses. With those abilities and an ambitious plan to create an army of Daywalkers like Blade, she’d be a terrific choice as the villain for his full MCU debut – especially if her introduction leads to an MCU portrayal of her iconic father.
