What Mahershala Ali Could Look Like As Blade

Against an army of immortals, one warrior must draw first blood. That warrior? Mahershala Ali, who is on board to star as Eric Brooks (better known as Blade) in Marvel Studios' Blade reboot. An Academy Award-winning actor who has taken turns in everything from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Hunger Games film series to Predators and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to Alita: Battle Angel and so much more, Ali takes the Blade mantle from original actor Wesley Snipes, who brought to life the vampire-hunting Blade for an entire trilogy of Marvel Comics-based movies that began in 1998. 

Many had been hoping for a Blade reboot and had placed Ali at the tippy-top of their lists of stars they'd like to see replace Snipes in the famous role. Now that Marvel made the news official, confirming during San Diego Comic-Con 2019 Ali's casting and explaining that he was actually the one who pitched the project and his involvement in it, artists and Photoshop experts have created edits and illustrations imagining what Ali could look like as Blade. Here's a glimpse at some of the best.

Also inspired by Mahershala Ali's performance as Vector in Alita: Battle Angel, popular digital artist and Photoshop master Bosslogic (@bosslogic on Instagram) created an edit of what the Oscar-winner could look like as Blade. We can't tell what's more impressive: Bosslogic's work, which sees Ali's Blade with fangs and tattoos and his signature weapon strapped to his back, or that he created the edit all the way back in February of 2019 — five months before Ali was announced as the new Blade.

In digital artist Montajes Asgaya's rendition of what Mahershala Ali's Blade could look like up on the big screen, the character wears his hair in a hi-top fade style that shows off his head and neck tattoos, and holds his weapon of choice gracefully in his hand. Against a deep red background, Blade looks determined, time-hardened, and totally badass — with "the power of an immortal, the soul of a human, and the heart of a hero."

Another person who predicted Marvel Studios would cast Mahershala Ali as the famous Daywalker was artist and illustrator Masood Tahir. Uploading his striking original artwork on Instagram under the handle @mastahgram, Tahir shared an eye-catching black-and-red-soaked illustration of what Ali could look like when he makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Blade in the forthcoming reboot. With his head tilted to the skies, his fanged smile spreading across his face, Ali's Blade looks all kinds of foreboding. And that dramatic collar around his neck? The Marvel icon has style and supreme vampire-hunting skills to boot. Now that's what we call a double threat. 

"@MahershalaAli as Blade...made this illustration months ago, but super excited to hear @MarvelStudios went with this casting decision! It's perfect! If there ever was a spiritual successor to Wesley Snipes it'd have to be Mahershala!" Tahir wrote in the caption, noting that he created the artwork using the raster graphics editor app Procreate on his iPad Pro. "Huge congratulations to the new Daywalker!"

A student at the French design institute L'école de Design Nantes Atlantique, artist Camille Vialet imagined that Mahershala Ali's iteration of Blade will hold nothing back and take no damage. To her Instagram account, @cvialet_art, Vialet shared her vision of the actor in the role: kneeling on the ground, wearing a smug smirk on his face as enemies aim the lasers of their weapons directly at his chest, shoulder, and leg. Shards of glass fly around Blade, suggesting that though the marksmen shot through the window in front of Blade, they are never going to be able to get a single bullet in his body. 

Unfortunately, it appears that Vialet's digital edit has since been removed from her Instagram feed.

Jackson Caspersz, who goes by @jackson_caspersz on Instagram, created a beautiful illustration of Mahershala Ali as Blade, seen holding his famous weapon behind his back while a number of enemies lurk in the background.

"I can't wait to see @mahershalaali play Blade in phase 4. I spent most of today creating this concept but it feels more like playing rather than working when you get to draw stuff you love so I ain't mad," Caspersz captioned the photo. "I was going to leave sparks out of this pic as i have it in a lot of my other concepts but he does kill vampires and they turn to ash...and embers soooo....... Hope you guys like this one."