It’s been well over six years since Marvel Studios ended its Hall H panel at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con by announcing that Oscar-winning Mahershala Ali would lead the new Blade movie. Now, six years later, the MCU finally delivered, and we got to see Blade, in Mahershala Ali’s image, for the first time, just not how we all expected. Instead of getting his own feature, Blade was briefly featured in the final moments of Marvel’s animated What If…? Season 3. However, unlike his usual Daywalker self, the Blade we got was actually a Blade/Moon Knight hybrid.
But that’s not all. Blade is also scheduled to appear in the upcoming Marvel Zombies, an animated 4-episode miniseries that’s (potentially) part of Phase Six. The series is set to premiere on Disney+ on September 24, 2025, and the final moments of What If…? s Season 3 served as a perfect stage for a cameo appearance of Blade- Knight, the aforementioned hybrid between Blade and Moon Knight, the latter of which has his own live-action television series. This has left fans wondering how this hybrid came to be, and is Blade Knight rooted in Marvel Comics?
The short answer is no, but before we elaborate, let’s first address the elephant in the room that is Mahershala Ali’s live-action Blade movie, which has been removed from its November 7, 2025, release date and pushed into a state of perpetual development. To be completely honest, no other MCU project has experienced the same level of turmoil as the hopefully upcoming Blade film, which lost its original director, Bassam Tariq, who exited the project in 2022.
Bassam Tariq’s exit from Blade happened two months before the planned production start, and he was soon replaced by Yann Demange, who also ended up leaving the project. Not only that, but several actors, such as Aaron Pierre and Delroy Lindo, who were reportedly attached to star alongside Ali, have also announced their departure from the project. Sadly, there were no other updates pertaining to Blade since 2024, when Kevin Feige stated that the MCU is still committed to the project and Mahershala Ali’s take on the character.
But what does all of this have to do with Blade-Knight? Well, there are some creative reasons why Marvel decided to introduce the alternate version of Blade before his live-action counterpart, which basically never happened before. Marvel’s animated universe needs a lot more lead time when making stuff, and with Blade in development hell, the team needed a way to bring Blade into the MCU without causing ripples that would affect his eventual arrival into the live-action segment.
Since the character was hinted at in the MCU previously (in Eternals), making an alternate version of Blade that’s also the Fist of Khonshu plays right into the What If…? premise. However, it’s a new character that isn’t tethered to his live-action self, with new character lore for the creative team to explore. So, to bring this discussion back to the original question, no, Blade-Knight isn’t comic book canon. He is an original creation made specifically for the Marvel Animated universe, which is canon to the MCU, but has never adhered to the mainline comic book continuity.
The newly introduced Blade Knight, also known as Eric Brooks, is set to be portrayed as a half-vampire, the Daywalker we’re all familiar with, but also wields the power of the moon god Khonshu, featuring traits that are inspired by Moon Knight. He even dons the white uniform and has glowing eyes as the Moon Knight while fighting with Blade’s signature ferocity. This character blends Blade’s vampire-hunting legacy with Moon Knight’s mysticism, but, as previously mentioned, he remains exclusive to the MCU’s animated universe.
At least for the time being. There were instances in which notable characters made their debut on the small or silver screen before being adapted into comics. Characters like Phil Coulson, Erik Selvig, and Kahhori all began their lives in live-action or animated releases before debuting in comic books. Captain Carter, Peggy Carter’s superhero persona, was first teased in 2018’s Exiles #3 as Captain America, before appearing in What If…? and subsequently receiving her own five-issue limited series written by Jamie McKelvie.
Who’s to say that the same won’t happen with Blade Knight? The character concept is actually pretty great, as both have similar hunting grounds and complementary power sets, with story engines that can run for years. On top of everything, it can unify different fanbases to create something completely new, a crossover that’s free of continuity knots associated with the mainline continuity.
In the end, the upcoming Marvel Zombies promises to bring Blade to the small screen, just not the version we were hoping for. This could turn out to be a good thing, as it goes to show that the MCU is still capable of sparking up entirely new storyline threads that can tie into alternate storylines, or even the mainline universe.
