Are Vampires Marvel’s Future Villains? MCU Now Has 3 Vampire Hunters

Vampires may be more important to the future of the MCU than anyone expects – namely because there are now three potential vampire hunters. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is changing shape. Although Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may not be an outright horror film, it promises to be the closest the MCU has ever gone to that particular genre; the first trailer for Doctor Strange 2 didn’t even close with the traditional Marvel joke.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has long openly admitted Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness serves as a transition point for the MCU – an opportunity to introduce a whole new wave of supernatural foes. Discussing the vampire hunter Blade with Rotten Tomatoes after announcing Mahershala Ali had been cast for that role, he admitted there was a direct link. “We have, for years, wanted to find a new way into Blade, we love that character, we love that world,” Feige explained. “Now, with Doctor Strange and the supernatural elements coming into the MCU, it felt like we could definitely start exploring that…” It’s surely no coincidence that Moon Knight will air on Disney+ right around the release of Doctor Strange 2, with Moon Knight‘s final episode expected to come out just days before the latest supernatural MCU blockbuster.

The MCU’s Phase 4 involves the release of an unprecedented number of films and Disney+ TV shows. As a result, Marvel appear to have changed their approach. Where films in Phases 1-3 were all part of a single overarching narrative, with Phase 4 Marvel seem to be setting up multiple narratives that run through what different groups of films. The most notable of these has been the multiverse, which ran through WandaVision, Loki, Marvel’s What If…? and Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it’s now looking though there’s another supernatural sector as well – and it’s quite possible vampires lie at the heart of this.

Vampires In The MCU So Far

Vampires have already been confirmed to exist in the MCU, even if they haven’t yet been seen. They were first mentioned in Thor: Ragnarok, in a scene in which Korg offered Thor weapons to replace his iconic hammer Mjolnir. One was a three-pronged spear, which Korg described as “not really useful unless you’re fighting off three vampires that were huddled together.” It was an amusing Easter egg, a clear reference to director Taika Waititi’s vampire film What We Do In The Shadows, but it also implicitly acknowledged the existence of vampires. Later, Loki episode 4 supported this in a scene where Mobius complained about the two Loki variants giving the Time Variance Authority trouble. “We brought in Kree, Titans, vampires,” he fumed. “Why is it the two orphan demigods are such a pain in the ass?” There seems to be a sense of progression to Mobius’ statement, suggesting the MCU’s vampires are at least comparable to – or more likely superior to – Titans like Thanos.

Then came Eternals‘ post-credits scene, which technically introduced Mahershala Ali as the MCU’s Blade. The post-credits scene saw Dane Whitman claim the legendary Ebony Blade that had been wielded by his ancestors, only to be challenged by an unseen intruder. The voice belonged to Mahershala Ali, unseen because the scene was shot before Marvel had finished designing his costume. Although Blade doesn’t have a release date yet, the film is expected to begin production in summer 2022, so it can’t be long before vampires make their official on-screen MCU debut.

MCU’s 3 Vampire Hunters Explained

It’s interesting to note that the MCU’s Phase 4 slate is introducing three potential vampire hunters. The most obvious is Blade himself, of course. Marvel’s portrayal will likely be different to the classic Wesley Snipes version, but he’ll still be a part-vampire who hunts the creatures of the night. The Eternals post-credit scene may well hint the MCU’s Black Knight is a vampire hunter as well, because according to Eternals producer Nate Moore the Blade voice cameo wasn’t chosen at a whim. “The Ebony Blade, the characteristics of the Ebony Blade are not dissimilar to some degree of vampirism,” he explained. “We think that’s an interesting kind of thing to play with. So we kind of knew that was on the table.” In historical terms, it’s interesting to note many legends of vampires did indeed flourish in England around the same time as the legends of Camelot, the home of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin – the sorcerer who, in the comics, was responsible for forging the Ebony Blade in the first place.

Meanwhile, Moon Knight too is loosely tied to vampires. His powers are derived from the Egyptian moon god Khonshu, briefly seen in the recent trailer. Khonshu considers himself the protector and avenger of all those who travel at night, and in the comics he resents vampires for attempting to claim the night as their hunting time. In fact, recent comics have established this was one of the reasons Khonshu chose to work through avatars, successive Moon Knights, who were intended to hunt down and kill vampires. It’s not unusual to see Marvel Comics tweak a character’s status quo to correspond with an upcoming twist in the MCU, so this revelation may be particularly important. Ironically, rather than just kill vampires the current Moon Knight – Marc Spector – has become a champion of those who were unwillingly turned, even protecting these innocent vampires from other servants of Khonshu.

Vampires Are Becoming A Bigger Marvel Focus

With that in mind, it’s also interesting to note that vampires are becoming a bigger area of focus for Marvel. This is happening in the comics, where Dracula has taken charge of a so-called “Vampire Nation” and declared war on the X-Men and the Avengers. Meanwhile, the X-Men have also discovered a separate race of vampires who live in the mystical realm of Otherworld, and who look upon their corrupted hybrid “cousins” on Earth with disgust. It’s worth remembering that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige now has a degree of creative oversight over the comics, so all this is unlikely to a coincidence. Rather, it represents a concerted push. Looking beyond Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures – which releases films in a loose partnership with Marvel – is also bringing vampires to life on the big screen with Morbius, which stars Jared Leto as the titular “Living Vampire.” All this is happening at the precise moment the MCU is setting up vampires – and, interestingly, Marvel also seem to be setting up Otherworld, which has its own ties to the Black Knight and the legend of Camelot. It seems to suggest vampires won’t simply be the villains of Blade. They’ll be something far more significant.

How Vampires Can Become Future MCU Villains

Another recent casting decision may offer a clue to the MCU’s potential vampire arc. The Nevers star Laura Donnelly recently joined the cast of the Werewolf By Night. Marvel is refusing to confirm details of her casting, but Donnelly could serve as a bridge between vampires and werewolves. There have been reports she is playing a character known as Vampire By Night, a lycanthrope who is bitten by a vampire. The interaction between the two curses means she is one of the few werewolves to regain human intelligence while in her animal form, and she can also walk about in direct sunlight, meaning she doesn’t have the weaknesses associated with either werewolves or vampires. The most important detail in Vampire By Night’s story is a comment in Amazing Fantasy #10 that vampires should be seen as alpha predators who rarely create more of their own kind, because they don’t want more competition.

This would perfectly explain why vampires – apparently comparable to Thanos in power level, according to Loki – haven’t been seen before in the MCU. It’s possible vampires are few and far between in the MCU, powerful titans who have positioned themselves in places of power and influence, meaning modern vampire hunters are as much detectives as they are slayers, trying to track them down. If so, this would mean the MCU’s vampires would truly be a force to be reckoned with, because they’d wield vast political clout as well as commanding armies with their wealth. They’d therefore be perfectly set up as major enemies in the MCU‘s Phase 4 and beyond.