Believe it or not, Weasley Snipes’ Blade was ahead of its time. In 1998, the film became one of Marvel Comics’ first successful live-action superhero blockbusters, and it did so with a black male lead. You may or may not know, but the first Blade movie also nearly featured Morbius, The Living Vampire’s first appearance on the big screen. It’s Morbin Time!
Deleted Scene: Morbius In The First Blade Movie
With Jared Leto cast as Sony’s Spidey villain spinoff, Morbius, it’s interesting to note that the popular vampire comic book character initially appeared at the end of Blade, in a deleted alternate ending scene, as a setup for Blade 2.
In the clip below, you’ll see that Wesley Snipe’s Blade defeats Frost, and the two survivors head to the roof, where they look out at the horizon of buildings where they see Morbius in the distance.
Of course, we know that the character never made it to Blade 2 and was instead dropped by Guillermo del Toro for a lesser-known antagonist.
Morbius In Spider-Man 4
However, that wasn’t the only time Dr Michael Morbius was set to appear. The character nearly made his way into Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4, too. Perhaps there could have been some sort of a shared universe between Spidey and Blade, but a fourth Spider-Man film never happened.
The popular Spider-Man villain was created in 1971 by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane for The Amazing Spider-Man #101. Michael was a scientist who tried to cure himself of a blood disease, with tragic results. He became afflicted with vampiric traits, such as fangs, a thirst for blood, superhuman strength, speed, and even flight.
Jared Leto’s version of Morbius, The Living Vampire arrived in 2020, with many expecting to see a Blade vs Morbius film somewhere down the line. But with Marvel struggling to get a Blade film in the MCU off the ground, it might never happen. Fans are also still wondering if we’ll get a Morbius 2. For now, enjoy the clip below.
Oh, and remember: There’s only one Blade.
Tell us, would you like to see Jared Leto’s Morbius vs Wesley Snipe’s Blade in an MCU movie?
Blade |
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A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires. |
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| Studio: New Line Cinema, Marvel Enterprises, Amen Ra Films, Imaginary Forces |
| Running Time: 120 minutes |
| Release Date: August 21, 1998 |
| Cast: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Sanaa Lathan |
| Director: Stephen Norrington |
| Writers: David S. Goyer |
| Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi |
| Box Office: $131.2 million |
