Did a throwaway line in 'Loki' just subtly set the stage for Marvel's upcoming Blade movie?
Garlic at the ready! Episode 4 of Loki seemed to have more on its mind than just fomenting dissent within the Time Variance Authority. After Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) are saved from certain doom on Lamentis-1, Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) utters a blink-and-you'll-miss-it line that completely gets overshadowed by of all the action in the latter half of the story. Commenting on how much trouble the two Loki variants have caused so far, he says: "You know, we've brought in Kree, Titans, vampires. Why is it the two orphan demigods are such a pain the ass?" Two of the three species mentioned above have already been introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A core element of Captain Marvel, the Kree showed a blatant refusal to end an Orwellian conflict against innocent Skrulls, while Thanos  a native of Titan  proved himself capable of mass genocide on a scale hitherto unseen during the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. The Kree and Titans are old news at this point, so let's focus on the third thing on Mobius' list of tough customers: vampires. Now, this could just be a fun, throwaway line that simply provides viewers with a small window into what else the TVA has come across in its temporal duties, but we suspect it might actually be a nod to the fact that Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali is stepping into the role of Marvel's vampire hunter, Blade. While the undead project doesn't have a director or release date yet, its script is currently being written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, a veteran of HBO's Watchmen. It also means, ya know, vampires are definitely a part of the MCU  or at least they will be. Credit: Marvel Studios  With Blade still in development, Mobius' vampire reference could be Marvel Studios' subtle way of keeping fans excited about the movie. In addition, it might serve a dual purpose as a teaser for Blade as well as Sony's own Marvel-inspired vampire flick, Morbius (out next January), which is set to somehow be connected to the MCU via Michael Keaton's Adrien Toomes/Vulture. Moreover, the different between "Mobius" and "Morbius" is only one letter. We'll be stocking up on holy water and crucifixes just in case. Episodes 1-4 of Loki are now available to stream on Disney+. The penultimate episode premieres on the platform next Wednesday, July 7.