Marvel's Disney+ Halloween special Blade movie. Despite heavy rumors that Blade would appear in Werewolf By Night, he was surprisingly absent from the special - and here's why.
Werewolf By Night director Michael Giacchino commented on the Blade rumors, explaining that the hour-long special simply didn't need him. Werewolf By Night was already densely packed with an interesting story, new characters, and plenty of setups, and cramming Blade into the special as well could have harmed the film more than it would have helped it. Although the rumor was that Blade's cameo was cut due to scheduling conflicts, Giacchino denies this, saying that although the idea was there, the crew decided against doing it well before scheduling would have occurred. It seems that the rumors of Blade's planned appearance in Werewolf By Night were mostly baseless. While his appearance would have been cool (and was generally expected), Werewolf By Night is actually better without Blade.
Why It Makes Sense That Werewolf By Night Didn't Use Blade
Blade is by far bigger than any of Werewolf By Night's monster hunters, but it makes perfect sense for him not to be there. The rumored Werewolf By Night cameo wouldn't have meshed well with the story it was trying to tell, as having a fairly serious character like Blade enter the mix would have thrown off the campy vibe the special was going for. Werewolf By Night has garnered critical acclaim since its release, mostly due to its unique tone among the MCU's other offerings. Unlike Werewolf By Night, Blade will presumably be played straight, so having him be introduced in a campy homage to classic monster movies simply wouldn't have made sense.
How Blade Could Still Meet Werewolf By Night & Elsa Bloodstone In The MCU
While Blade may not have appeared in Werewolf By Night, there are still plenty of opportunities for him to meet characters like Jack Russell and Elsa Bloodstone. The Bloodstone family clearly has been studying vampires for a while, with the origin of the MCU's vampires being made canon through the Bloodstone's writings. Having Blade visit Elsa would make perfect sense, as it would allow him to gain new insight regarding the blood-sucking threat, as well as possibly setting up a team-up between the two monster hunters.
A more interesting possibility is that Blade, Werewolf By Night, and Elsa Bloodstone could all be on a superhero team sometime in the future. Blade approaches Black Knight during the post-credits scene of Eternals, hinting that the Vampire Hunter could be forming some kind of team. Blade could recruit Jack Russell or Elsa Bloodstone onto whatever team he is planning, whether it be Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, the Legion of Monsters, or MCU's Midnight Sons. The characters from Werewolf By Night will undoubtedly be operating in the same corner of the MCU as Blade, making some kind of team-up inevitable.
