Marvel Officially Fills The Void Left By Blade With a New Vampire Project

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It appears plans for a Blade reboot with Mahershala Ali are on hold, possibly due to Wesley Snipes returning as Blade in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie, thanks to Ryan Reynolds. While Marvel sorts this out before Avengers: Doomsday arrives in December 2026, they’re also looking for another way to explore the vampire genre.

Blade isn’t the only vampire in Marvel Comics. Characters like Morbius, and surprisingly even Dracula – as seen in the upcoming Werewolf by Night: Blood Moon Rise #1 – appear in the universe. Dracula’s daughter, Lilith, is also a notable vampire character.

Marvel is teaming up with Dark Horse Comics to release a special collection called The Best of Marvel’s Vampire Tales: Volume One later this summer. Comic book experts Chris Ryall, John Lind, and designer Chris Shadoian are curating this collection of dark and intense vampire stories.

  • Type: Hardcover
  • Length: 360 pages
  • Dimensions: 8.375″ x10.875”
  • On sale: August 18, 2026
  • Price: $65 US

Blade, Morbius, Dracula and Plenty More Horror from Marvel

As a Marvel fan, it’s always exciting when they try something different, and lately they’ve been dipping their toes into horror more and more – the popularity of Marvel Zombies proves that! And honestly, when they do go dark and a little scary, especially in the comics, it’s usually a really enjoyable experience.

Dark Horse Comics and Marvel are hoping to capture fans with The Best of Marvel’s Vampire Tales: Volume One, which is being presented as a tribute to Marvel’s history of horror. This book kicks off a series of collaborations between the two companies, showcasing Marvel’s creepiest stories in high-quality hardcover editions – no paperbacks will be released.

As detailed in the request for proposals, The Best of Marvel’s Vampire Tales: Volume One is a nearly 300-page collection of scary stories from the first six issues of the magazine. It features work by many famous comic book creators, including Alfredo Alcala, Rich Buckler, Ernie Chan, Chris Claremont, Gerry Conway, Bill Everett, Gardner Fox, Steve Gerber, Carmine Infantino, Tony Isabella, Gil Kane, Stan Lee, Don McGregor, Pablo Marcos, Esteban Maroto, Doug Moench, Tom Palmer, John Romita, Jim Steranko, Tom Sutton, Roy Thomas, and Marv Wolfman, among others!

Which Blade Will Take the MCU Mantle, Though?

The big question still looms: will we ever see Mahershala Ali as Blade? It’s been two years since Wesley Snipes returned to the role in Deadpool & Wolverine, and recent comments from Ali and others suggest the version of Blade promised back in 2019 is unlikely to happen.

Mia Goth (known for her roles in films like X, Pearl, MaXXXine, Frankenstein, and The Odyssey) was originally cast in Ali’s Blade movie. She even had a costume made and did a screen test with Ali, and things seemed promising. However, in 2025, Goth revealed the project fell apart, with Ali publicly asking Marvel executive Kevin Feige to move the film forward, but seemingly being ignored.

He stated he’s eager to work with Marvel and is prepared to take on the role of Blade. He’s currently focused on doing his best work and taking things one day at a time, but hopes the Blade project will move forward. He’s unsure of Marvel’s current plans, though.

Reports suggest Wesley Snipes may return as Blade one last time, either in a future Avengers: Doomsday film or another project. There’s also talk that Mahershala Ali could finally take on the role of the Daywalker in the potential Midnight Sons series, which is rumored to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While we wait for those details to be confirmed, you can revisit some classic Marvel vampire stories in The Best of Marvel’s Vampire Tales: Volume One.

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2026-04-16 22:16