Thanks to the MCU, the Avengers movies, and now the Marvel multiverse, seeing comic book characters in each other’s movies has become the norm. But this was not always the case, and a Marvel outing from the 1990s almost did it long before the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor decided to stand together. That movie was 1998’s Blade, which introduced Wesley Snipes as the iconic Daywalker…and almost led to a sequel in which he fought another Marvel antihero.
An alternate ending to Blade found Snipes’ vampire hunter coming face to face (from a distance, anyway) with none other than Morbius the Living Vampire. The ending is available to watch, though sadly only in low quality, and you can check it out below courtesy of YouTube user @letalprotectoryt1980. These alternative final moments of Blade follow a similar route to what was released as our hero climbs onto a rooftop to ask his accomplice, Karen, to keep her cure as he still has a lot more vampire hunting to do.
This is where things take a turn towards the intriguing, as Blade is told he’s “on the clock.” Looking up, we get our first look at this universe’s version of Morbius. All dressed in black, with his long coat blowing in the wind in that epic way that only action cinema can achieve, this was all part of director Stephen Norrington and writer David S. Goyer’s plan for a Blade versus Morbius sequel. In fact, so committed were they to the idea, that Norrington himself played Morbius in the scene.
‘Blade 2’ Would Have Seen the Daywalker Do Battle With Morbius
The DVD commentary of Blade reveals that this scene was intended to set up a sequel, much like Batman Begins’ Joker card reveal during its final moments. While a little cheap and cheesy, it’s exciting nonetheless to imagine what a Blade 2 centered on the Daywalker and Morbius would have looked like. Of course, these plans were abandoned when Guillermo del Toro took over directing duties on the Blade follow-up, delivering a different, but undeniably brilliant Marvel outing.
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X-Men ‘97 Writer Shares His Idea for Wesley Snipes ‘Old Man’ Blade Movie
Beau DeMayo, who was previously set to write the MCU Blade reboot, has shared his pitch for a potential fourth Wesley Snipes-led sequel.
A Blade reboot is now in the works as part of the MCU, but the project has seriously struggled to get going, losing directors, writers, and frustrating lead star and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali along the way. Wesley Snipes, meanwhile, reprised the iconic role for Deadpool & Wolverine’s multiversal madness, with many fans (and Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds) now calling for the action star to get his own, final fourth movie.
As for Morbius, the living vampire would not make his big screen debut until 2022. And many fans of the character no doubt wish he had stayed in his crypt. Introduced alongside the likes of Tom Hardy’s Venom and Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web, the Jared Leto-led Morbius was met with savage reviews from critics, landing at just 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. One can only wonder how better the character would’ve fared had he been put up against Wesley Snipes’ Blade way back when.
- Release Date
- August 21, 1998
- Runtime
- 2hr
