Longtime Marvel readers were eagerly anticipating Blade's appearance in Marvel Rivals. But nobody was more excited than voice actor Gabe Kunda. Blade has been teased in the popular hero shooter since Season 1, when the heroes battled the most famous vampire of them all, Count Dracula. But he never appeared leading Kunda to wonder if he'd been replaced.
"I was cast as Blade in July 2024," Kunda explained on YouTube. "I was told you're going to come out to the studio in LA and record over the course of many months. Now mind you, Marvel Rivals is not out yet. "
Kunda said several months passed and NetEase Games hadn't called him to record yet.
"Marvel Rivals is out and to the masses," he said. "It's doing crazy numbers, and everybody's playing it. It's like OK, no worries, cool. And then I started hearing rumors that Blade was gonna be added to the game in January."
When he saw a teaser of Blade chained up in Dracula's castle, Kunda was afraid the role had been recast. As any actor knows, there are no guarantees before you start filming. In extreme cases such as Back to the Future, the production is started with one actor and finished with another.
But July came, and so did the call Kunda had been waiting for. As comic fans know, storylines are teased forever before coming to fruition. As it turns out, Blade did show up to fight his nemesis Dracula, but didn't know the vampire lord had the power of chronovium at his disposal. Blade got captured, and was held in Drac's castle until the heroes rescued him.
Blade finally arrived in Season 3.5, the Abyss Awakens. He's been worth the wait, slashing enemies up with sick shotgun and sword combos, lifesteal, and anti-healing.
"I've never worked on a game where you record the voice lines and it comes out a month later," Kunda said. "NetEase and Marvel are on a whole different timeline."
After sharing some of his recording experiences, Kunda suited up to play Blade in Marvel Rivals. His extensive resume includes Newcastle in Apex Legends, KAY/O in Valorant, and Macaron in Hi-Fi Rush.