Oscar winner Mahershala Ali has technically already been a part of the MCU as the villainous Cottonmouth in the first season of Netflix’s Luke Cage. That character was underused though, and I don’t think fans would be continuity sticklers if he were to bring his formidable acting talents to another comic book character, specifically Blade. Take a look below to see what Mahershala Ali could look like as Blade in the MCU.
Yup, as you would imagine, he looks awesome, and if this fan art from BossLogic is anything to go off of, Mahershala Ali can definitely pull off the vampire fangs required for the role. BossLogic also imagines Mahershala Ali’s portrayal of the character with more tattoos than the Wesley Snipes version, and with a smile on his face conveying a less dour Eric Brooks and one who might have a bit of fun once in a while.
In his tweet, BossLogic indicates that he wanted to do this piece after seeing Alita: Battle Angel, and if you’ve seen that film or even the trailers, you can understand why. Mahershala Ali’s dastardly Vector, like Blade, also dresses in all black and wears sunglasses. Mahershala Ali can clearly rock the all-black look and that isn’t a bad quality for a Blade candidate to have.
This fan art shows that Mahershala Ali would look the part as Blade, but whether he, or anyone else for that matter, gets to play the daywalker in the MCU is a mystery. Like much of the MCU’s future beyond Avengers: Endgame, we don’t know if there are any firm plans to finally bring the vampire hunter back into the fold.
If it were to happen, we also don’t know if Wesley Snipes would reprise his role as he has occasionally teased. It does seem like the time is right though for a new Blade. With the MCU moving to a new phase, presumably without many of the faces that have got it this far, some new blood will have to step in to carry the torch.
Maybe Blade could show up on a Marvel series on Hulu or, with Marvel seemingly warming to R-rated films, Blade could return to the silver screen. If either of those were to happen, Marvel couldn’t do much better than Mahershala Ali. In addition to this fan art that proves the concept, Mahershala Ali has proven what a talented and compelling actor he is on both television and in film.
It seems like Mahershala Ali is everywhere now too. He is on the big screen in Alita: Battle Angel (which more people should really give a chance!) and on the small screen in the return to form that is True Detective season 3.
Mahershala Ali may also find himself back on the stage at the Dolby Theatre with a statue in hand, as he is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Green Book at this year’s Academy Awards. He's already snagged a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a SAG award for the role, so he's probably the frontrunner.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in fan casting and check out our release schedule to see all the movies you can look forward to in 2019.
