Blade and the Justice League might originate from different comic book universes, but they have one big thing in common in their unmade movies.
Blade’s Post-Apocalyptic Film That Never Was
Blade first hit the big screen in 1998, launching The Daywalker into mainstream popularity and paving the way for the modern superhero movie renaissance. Meanwhile, the Justice League have been widely beloved and popular for a lot longer in both comics and television, especially in the animated shows Justice League, Justice League: Unlimited, and their assortment of animated movies. The Justice League’s cinematic debut is a much wilder story with the tale of 2017’s Justice League and 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but they actually share something in common with Blade – namely, both Blade and the Justice League are the heroes of wild post-apocalyptic superhero movies that have never been made.
In Blade’s case, his post-apocalyptic film began as the original conception of 2004’s Blade: Trinity, which is remembered for its infamously troubled production and eventual status as one of the worst superhero movies ever made (much like Justice League 2017.) While Blade: Trinity sees Wesley Snipes’ Daywalker team-up with the Nightstalkers to take down the original vampire Dracula (Dominic Purcell), the third Blade movie was originally going to be an I Am Legend-esque battle for the fate of the world. Per an interview with writer-director David S. Goyer for ComingSoon.net, the third Blade film was originally going to take place 40 years in the future, with vampires having conquered Earth and completely subjugating mankind with Blade continuing to fight on to save the human race, Blade having age more slowly due to his vampire powers.
The Unmade Justice League Sequels
Ultimately, Goyer decided that Blade felt more at home in a modern setting, leading to Blade: Trinity as it was actually realized, but comparing the original concept for the third Blade to what was actually made, there’s no question that the post-apocalyptic Blade 3 sounds FAR better than the notoriously atrocious Blade: Trinity. This is where Blade’s parallels with the Justice League also come in, as Zack Snyder had conceived a similarly post-apocalyptic theme for his plans for Justice League 2 and Justice League 3 via the Knightmare future teased in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
In the Knightmare plans shown in Snyder’s whiteboard layout for the Justice League sequels, Darkseid (Ray Porter) conquers Earth by killing Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and using the Anti-Life Equation to make the despondent Superman (Henry Cavill) into his mind-controlled soldier. However, after Darkseid overtakes Earth, Batman (Ben Affleck) devises a plan to send The Flash (Ezra Miller) back in time on the cosmic treadmill to stop Darkseid’s murder of Lois, averting the Knightmare timeline completely. This then leads right into Superman and the Justice League, leading mankind to a final showdown against Darkseid and Apokolips in Justice League 3.
Unfulfilled Potential and Fan Demand
Given the nature of how the Snyder Cut of Justice League came to be, Zack Snyder’s Justice League sequel plans have significantly embedded themselves into the public consciousness, with fans continuing to call for the completion of Snyder’s intended five-movie arc. Even Snyder himself still adds fuel to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse or #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix hopes with supportive comments here and there in interviews. While the original idea for Blade 3 has received far less mainstream attention since Blade: Trinity’s release, it nonetheless paints a picture of the original Blade franchise reaching a similar crescendo as Snyder’s Justice League plans. Both would focus upon their titular heroes reeling from a crushing defeat and a world brought to its knees by the darkest of evildoers, and only through ingenuity and resolve would their respective heroes manage to win.
At writing, there are no known plans for the Justice League in the upcoming DCU under DC Studios, while Marvel Studios is still struggling to get the MCU Blade to reboot off the ground a half-decade after it was first announced. In any case, Blade and the Justice League embody completely different sides of superheroism for both Marvel and DC, but it is perhaps one of the strangest coincidences of both companies’ cinematic histories that Blade and the Justice League should both have a set of unproduced yet very epic sounding post-apocalyptic sequels.
Tell us, would you like to see a Morbius and Blade crossover movie?
