A fan-made poster for Marvel Studios’ Blade imagines what actor Mahershala Ali could look like as the vampire hunting daywalker. The film was initially revealed alongside Marvel’s Phase 4 films as a surprise at SDCC. Ali came out on stage at the end of Marvel Studios’ panel in Hall H and placed a hat on his head revealing the film as well as his role as the main character. The actor is already well-versed in Marvel films as he played Uncle Aaron in Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as well as Cornell Stokes in the MCU Netflix series Luke Cage. 

The original Blade film trilogy started in 1998 and had Wesley Snipes take on the role of the main character. The trilogy ended in 2004 with Blade: Trinity and since then Marvel fans have always associated Snipes with the character. After the new film was announced, Snipes released a statement offering nothing but support for Ali and the MCU film. While many fans wanted to see Snipes reprise the role, it’s unsurprising that Marvel Studios recast Blade, especially since the original trilogy had a conclusive ending. The original film’s success put Marvel on the map and would eventually be followed by Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films as well as Bryan Singer’s X-Men. 

The fan-made poster, created by Reddit user iMizurri, shows Ali in Blade’s black trench coat wielding his iconic custom-made sword. As of right now, very few details have been revealed about the film or its release date. We do know that Blade will act as a film in Phase 5 of the MCU. Since Phase 4’s films will release throughout 2020 and 2021, some speculate that the MCU’s Blade will kick off Phase 5 and release in 2022 at the earliest.

The films in Phase 4 will consist of returning characters and newcomers like Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Doctor Stranger, and more. There will also be the Disney+ shows Loki, WandaVision, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier which will tie into the new films. The president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, also hinted at Fantastic Four and X-Men films so it’s possible they’ll be joining Blade after Phase 5 begins.

Blade definitely offers a more mature storyline than a lot of the other more family-friendly Marvel characters. Since every film in the original Blade trilogy is rated R, it’ll be interesting to see if the writers take a darker approach with the script. Especially considering they’re under Disney’s supervision. Given that Mahershala Ali has won himself two Academy Awards, Blade is definitely in safe hands. After a 15 year hiatus, it’s really awesome to see the character making an appearance again on a bigger stage than ever before.

Next: Predicting Marvel’s 2022 Movie Release Slate

Source: iMizurri

  • Black Widow Release Date: 2021-07-09 The Eternals Release Date: 2021-11-05 Shang Chi Release Date: 2021-09-03 Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness Release Date: 2022-05-06 Thor: Love and Thunder Release Date: 2022-07-08