Vampires have yet to appear on screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they are on the way. The daywalking vampire Blade is set to get his own movie with the title character played by Mahershala Ali. Just how vampires will fit into the MCU remains to be seen - or how they were created in the MCU in the first place. In Marvel comics, vampires as a species were an accidental creation. When ancient Atlanteans used the Darkhold in a bid to resurrect a fallen leader, they created the whole new race of beings.
With the Darkhold existing in the MCU and seen in use in WandaVision, it’s entirely possible audiences could see a similar origin story. Even if they don’t, it’s clear that vampires at least have a place in pop culture lore for Marvel characters already. Vampires are mentioned in several existing MCU chapters - and in some shows that are likely no longer considered MCU canon. Some of those mentions speak to their real existence, while others present conflicting information in jokes made about vampires in conversations.
TV Series That Might Not Be MCU Canon
There is a lot of debate as to which television shows are still part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon with the development of the Disney Plus shows, the shifting of timelines in Loki, and the coming exploration of the multiverse. Shows like those that aired on Netflix, and shows like Agents Of SHIELD aren’t necessarily part of the main timeline anymore. Considering Marvel has its multiverse now established, however, those stories could still exist in alternate timelines.
In the second season of Agents Of SHIELD, an Easter egg hid a nod to vampires in the show. Dr. Jemma Simmons went undercover at Hydra. Working as an analyst and researcher for them, one of the files she had during her time there was for a “hellcow” named Bessie. While the word “vampire” was never said in the show, Bessie the Hellcow is a Marvel comic book character. Once a normal cow, Bessie was turned after she was bitten by Dracula in the 1600s. The nod to her existence in the show was one of the first hints that vampires could exist in the MCU.
Cloak And Dagger discusses vampire-nuns in a story that’s inspired by real New Orleans history. According to the story, a group of young women were handpicked by the king of France when New Orleans was still under his rule, and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to be given to men in the city to help populate it. The girls ended up ill, pale, and with chapped skin because of the voyage, making them resemble vampires. They were also taken to the convent from the docks, hidden from prying eyes, in caskets, so as not to scare off suitors. That’s not entirely the true story of the Casket Girls, but it does give an idea of what vampires are thought to look like in the world of Marvel.
In Netflix's Iron Fist, vampires get an off-hand mention once in the way of building the lore around them. When Ward and Joy Meachum are on the outs, Ward pays a visit to his sister, trying to make things right between them. After lurking outside her apartment, he asks if she’s going to invite him in. Joy responds, “that’s the way it works with vampires, right?” It’s clear that she’s implying he’s not a good guy. She’s also, however, providing a nod to one bit of pop culture lore concerning vampires: they can’t just walk into a privately owned residence. Vampires have to be invited in. That bit of lore isn’t always used in vampire stories, but it is present in Marvel comics.
Runaways, originally airing on Hulu, focuses on a group of teenagers who discover their parents are all part of a group that sacrifices humans to an alien being. Most of the conflicts are rooted in the science fiction associated with those alien beings - the Gibborim. It’s during one of those conflicts that Chase Stein attempts to explain how a piece of alien technology works to Gert Yorkes. He likens inhibitor pods used to stop the Gibborim with a silver bullet being used against a vampire. That particular analogy is actually incorrect. Silver bullets are typically associated with stopping werewolves in modern pop culture, not vampires, though historically, pure silver was used to repel vampires, but not stop them completely.
Joking Mentions Of Vampires In The MCU
In addition to slowly building up vampire lore in Marvel projects, most mentions of vampires are played off as a joke, indicating that not everyone believes in vampires. In WandaVision, for example, Tommy and Billy Maximoff joke about worrying their “uncle Pietro” is actually a vampire because he’s still asleep in the middle of the afternoon. It’s made clear that neither of them actually believe he’s a vampire at all.
Even Thor: Ragnarok, one of the last places the audience might have expected a vampire joke, included one. When picking out a weapon to use in a fight, Korg determines that a large fork-like instrument is only suitable when going up against a trio of vampires. Thor doesn’t really acknowledge the moment at all, leaving the audience to wonder if Thor has seen vampires before or not.
One recent mention of vampires that was played off as a joke came in Eternals. In the movie, the Eternal Kingo reveals his friend Karun has worked for him for decades, and in fact, Karun believed Kingo was a vampire initially. The two laugh about the joke, but considering the post-credit scene of Eternals featured an unexpected character debut, the mention might have been prophetic.
What Vampires Have Been Up To In The MCU
Since vampires have only been mentioned up to this point, it’s hard to determine just what they’re up to in the MCU. The voice of Blade talks to Dane Whitman in the post-credit scene of Eternals, but the audience never sees him. It’s clear he knows something about Dane’s family’s magical sword, but beyond that, there’s no hint at just how much he knows about the supernatural or super-heroic world at that point.
The audience might not know exactly how vampires are surviving in the MCU so far, or what they’re getting up to outside of the spotlight, but they do know they’re in the world for real. In fact, the audience can pinpoint that vampires have even been removed from the world.
Loki’s Time Variance Authority specifically calls out vampires. When Mobius explains that variants are removed from the timeline to Loki, he calls out specific species that have had variants. In addition to humans, Mobius makes mention of Kree and Titans, two alien species that have been seen in the MCU already. He also notes that they’ve removed vampires from the sacred timeline. Loki is more surprised by the existence of variants than he is by vampires, which indicates Asgardians, at the very least, are familiar with their existence.
When The Audience Will Actually See Vampires In The MCU
Some might be under the impression that Morbius will be the first vampire on screen for the MCU. That’s not entirely the case. Though Morbius is called “the living vampire,” and his abilities resemble those of vampires, he’s not a vampire in the traditional sense. His abilities come from an experiment, not a vampire bite. It’s also not clear yet if his character will be part of the MCU, or stay in Sony’s Spider-Man-related universe of movies without crossing over.
It’s unlikely that vampires will get their own storyline in the immediate future of the MCU. Instead, it likely won’t be until Blade’s movie premieres. Set to begin filming in 2022, the movie won’t land in theaters until at least a year after that. Audience members will continue to see hints at the existence of vampires until then.