Actor Mahershala Ali is currently set to portray Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Interestingly, however, actor Will Smith is being thrown into the Blade mix by way of some newly-generated AI art.
The introduction of modern artificial intelligence programs has provided the internet with some truly surprising images and videos. Although there are flaws, many of these images can be quite lifelike, and that happens to be the case with the below image. Fans can see a particularly realistic take on Will Smith as Marvel’s iconic vampire hunter, Blade, with these new pictures.
Of course, the images are vague regarding the vampire elements, but this render of Will Smith appears to have the complete Blade getup. This includes the sunglasses, coat, and a weapon (that, given the circumstances with AI, he isn’t quite holding correctly.)
Here are the photos of Will Smith as Blade – generated by Luis Souza:
Will Smith playing Blade???? Hmmm #Blade pic.twitter.com/OGk8NlkcvU
— Treexkz\/Tweetz (@knaxkzsmaxkz) June 27, 2023
Will Smith is the character for the MCU Blade pic.twitter.com/4UV8QCmrRE
— Allison Shacole (@king_shacole) June 27, 2023
It’s worth noting that, while these images are generated by AI, there is no actual Blade movie with Will Smith happening. The character is currently set to be played by Mahershala Ali for an upcoming live-action adaptation set in the MCU. Blade was previously played in live-action by Wesley Snipes for three movies and by Sticky Fingaz in a short-lived television series on Spike.
The next Blade film is currently slated to be directed by Yann Demange. The screenplay is being rewritten by Michael Starrbury. Production is expected to happen after the writers strike at Tyler Perry Studios, Atlanta. It will then be released on February 14, 2025.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional Marvel or Blade updates as we have them. For now, it’s certainly interesting seeing what Will Smith could look like in the role, and hopefully production on the upcoming iteration with Mahershala Ali can get going sooner rather than later. Especially since Eternals already teased the arrival of Ali’s take on the character.