Deadpool & Wolverine’s ‘Only One Blade’ Line Is A Bigger Deal Than You Imagine In MCU Theory

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Deadpool & Wolverine

Wesley Snipes’ surprise Blade appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine dropped a hilarious jab at the MCU‘s vampire hunter, but there may be more to this joke than it may seem at first. Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cameo characters include long-absent villains such as Sabretooth, Toad, Azazel, and Juggernaut. Other characters received bigger roles in Deadpool & Wolverine, namely the group of survivors who opposed Cassandra Nova: Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Channing Tatum’s Gambit, Dafne Keen’s X-23, and Wesley Snipes’ Blade — plus a few characters that Deadpool & Wolverine‘s easter eggs alluded to, such as Magneto, Quicksilver, Daredevil, and the Punisher.

When Deadpool and Wolverine’s unlikely allies in the Void launch an attack on Cassandra Nova’s base, Wesley Snipes’ Blade makes it clear that there may be multiple Punisher variants, but “only one Blade”, which Deadpool knows is inaccurate due to the character’s upcoming introduction in the MCU’s Blade movie. Although Wesley Snipes’ Blade seems to die in the Void, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s ending scenes reveal that X-23 has safely returned to Earth-10005, which suggests that her teammates are also able to return in a future MCU project, including Snipes’ “only” Blade.

Blade Might Be As Important To The Multiverse As Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, And America Chavez

Blade Variants Might Be An Especially Rare Sight Across The Marvel Multiverse

Blade’s “only one Blade” joke in Deadpool & Wolverine clearly poked fun at the fact that despite the MCU’s Blade movie announcement in 2019, Wesley Snipes’ Blade has been the only live-action iteration of the character on the big screen since Snipes’ starring role in 1998’s Blade movie, which preceded Fox’s X-Men franchise, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and the whole MCU. However, Blade’s Deadpool & Wolverine joke could also have an in-universe explanation: Blade variants may be very rare, and therefore important, in the Marvel multiverse — so rare, in fact, that only one of them has ever been pruned by the TVA so far.

The Multiverse Saga has repeatedly teased the concept of unique characters in the multiverse. WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have established Earth-616’s Scarlet Witch as the most dangerous Wanda Maximoff in the multiverse. The Doctor Strange sequel and What If…? proved the opposite, revealing that Earth-616’s Doctor Strange has avoided the catastrophic mistakes his many multiversal variants have committed. Similarly, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness established that America Chavez doesn’t have any variants, and Deadpool & Wolverine revealed that Earth-10005’s original Wolverine was such an important anchor being that his death “sent ripples across the Sacred Timeline”.

Mahershala Ali’s Blade Might Be The MCU’s Central Supernatural Hero

The MCU’s Main Blade Could Become A Key Marvel Figure Soon

Earth-616’s Blade hasn’t appeared on screen yet, but his absence may have a reasonable explanation. While the MCU’s numerous world-changing events seem like perfect opportunities to bring the world’s best vampire hunter out of the shadows, the multiversal events of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars may be the only justification for the MCU’s Eric Brooks a.k.a. Blade to unveil himself. The Avengers’ multiversal battles could trigger paranormal threats from other dimensions and timelines that only the MCU’s main Blade could deal with, including interdimensional creatures, demons, and supernatural spirits. This could lead Blade to become Earth-616’s paranormal equivalent of the Sorcerer Supreme.

Avengers: Doomsday‘s main villain is Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, a powerful supervillain known for his expert knowledge of sorcery and the Dark Arts. In the comics, Doctor Doom holds a personal grudge against Mephisto, who captured Doom’s mother’s soul after she made a deal with the demon. Mephisto’s MCU introduction, although not confirmed yet, could come in Phase 5 through Ironheart. Whether due to Doctor Doom, Mephisto, Agatha Harkness, or a different mystical character, Mahershala Ali’s Blade could become the MCU’s main supernatural hero from Phase 6 onward.

Ryan Reynolds’ Blade Movie Idea Can Give Wesley Snipes’ Blade A Fitting Farewell

Wesley Snipes’ Blade May Be On Track To Pass On The Torch To Mahershala Ali’s Blade

Blade’s MCU introduction doesn’t have to separate itself from Wesley Snipes’ legacy. Ryan Reynolds proposed a send-off movie for Snipes’ Blade in the style of James Mangold’s Logan, with an older Blade wielding his weapons one last time to sacrifice himself heroically and inherit the mantle. Whether Reynolds’ idea happens in a Wesley Snipes-led solo movie or within an MCU crossover event like Avengers: Secret Wars, the original Blade’s send-off story could pay off Deadpool & Wolverine‘s “only one Blade” joke to have Snipes’ Blade accept the existence of a new Blade and pass the torch onto him.

The concept of only two Blade variants dealing with all paranormal matters in the multiverse would take center stage. The possibility of dying in the process would have higher stakes for the two Blades than for any other character, as countless Loki, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Iron Man variants could always pop up to try again, but if Blades are truly rare, there would only be two people carrying the responsibility in the whole multiverse. In true Logan fashion, as Reynolds’ idea suggests, Wesley Snipes’ Blade would die, leaving Mahershala Ali’s Blade the only Blade variant in the Sacred Timeline.

Marvel Studios Could Use Blade’s Multiple Delays To The MCU’s Advantage

The Blade Movie’s Delays Could Have An In-Universe Explanation

The in-universe integration of Blade’s “only one Blade” joke from Deadpool & Wolverine would benefit the MCU’s troubled Blade movie. Blade’s solo movie has gone through multiple delays and rewrites since its announcement at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, yet the MCU’s Blade is yet to settle on a script, a writer, and a director a little over a year before its scheduled release date. So, instead of a straightforward, grounded solo movie, the MCU’s first Blade movie could acknowledge that, in-universe, the character could only come out of the shadows until late Phase 5.

With the help of a final delay, the MCU’s Blade movie could land between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which would help Blade take advantage of the franchise’s multiverse theme to explain Blade’s multiversal connections. Events like the heroic death of Wesley Snipes’ Blade or the arrival of interdimensional entities in Avengers: Doomsday thanks to Doctor Doom could finally motivate Mahershala Ali’s Blade to show himself to the world, thus receiving the privilege of calling himself the multiverse’s “only one Blade” and accepting the duties that come with that title.

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  Deadpool & Wolverine

  Director

  Shawn Levy

  Release Date

  July 26, 2024

  Cast

  Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , Emma Corrin , Morena Baccarin , Rob Delaney , Leslie Uggams , Karan Soni , Matthew Macfadyen , Brianna Hildebrand , Shioli Kutsuna , Stefan Kapicic , Lewis Tan , Randal Reeder , Jennifer Garner , Aaron Stanford , Billy Clements , Ollie Palmer , Chris Hemsworth , Rob McElhenney

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  Blade (2025)

  Director

  Bassam Tariq

  Release Date

  November 7, 2025

  Writers

  Stacy Osei-Kuffour

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