This new fan art proves that Mahershala Ali’s Blade will be the perfect reflection of one of Quentin Tarantino’s best fighting characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ali was announced to have been cast as Eric Brooks’ vampire hunter, Blade, back in 2019, but we are still yet to see him in the MCU. We heard him warning Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) about the Ebony Blade in Eternals’ post-credits scene, and have met his variants in Deadpool & Wolverine and Marvel Zombies, but the production of Marvel Studios’ official Blade reboot has been tumultuous.
Videos by ComicBook.com
While we wait for Mahershala Ali to actually join the MCU, fan art has given us glimpses as to what Blade might actually look like in live-action. This includes art shared by @arifinity_ on Instagram, which imagines Blade in the style of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. Combining Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), and scheduled to release on December 5, 2025, The Whole Bloody Affair will mark the return of Uma Thurman as The Bride, a supremely skilled assassin whose power set could be replicated for the MCU’s Blade.
Why Mahershala Ali’s Blade Should Copy Uma Thurman’s Bride in the MCU
Quentin Tarantino imbued his Kill Bill movies with a highly-stylized aesthetic and unique fighting sequences that made them two of the most iconic action movies in cinema history. When Marvel Studios is approaching its Blade reboot for the MCU, it would make sense for the studio to try and borrow, including in Blade’s characterization. The Kill Bill movies explored an intense personal narrative, as The Bride sought vengeance on her former friends in the Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her unborn child. Blade would benefit from exploring a similarly-personal story.
We don’t know much about Blade, what genre, style, and action sequences it will bring to the MCU. Following recent criticism aimed at Marvel, it might make sense for the studio to give Blade a more unique tone, and this comes down to the director. Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange have both been attached to Blade as directors, but both have departed, so the hunt is on for the third (and hopefully final) director. Following his work on the Kill Bill movies, Tarantino would be a surprising but remarkable choice, but this is wildly unlikely.
The fight sequences in Blade will be just as important as they are in the Kill Bill movies. Eric Brooks is a vampire/human hybrid who sets out to rid the world of vampires, offering up plenty of opportunities for some bloody, high-octane, visceral, and intense battles. As a master martial artist, swordsman, marksman, and hand-to-hand combatant, Blade shares many skills with The Bride, so it would be great to see some of Thurman’s best moves replicated or used as inspiration for Ali’s Daywalker in the MCU.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
