Deadpool & Wolverine brought back a few fan-favourite characters from the Marvel Universe's past, though Wesley Snipes' Blade was easily the biggest surprise.
Snipes and Reynolds famously clashed while shooting Blade: Trinity and, with Mahershala Ali still attached to a Blade reboot announced five years ago, it's fair to say we all thought the actor's time as the Daywalker had reached its end.
Despite being 62, Snipes didn't look like he'd lost a step as Blade and was a total badass in the Marvel Studios threequel.
Now, we get to see a few different costume designs for the character; coming our way courtesy of artist Wes Burt, this concept art features Blade rocking a new, modern style along with a battle-worn outfit he's clearly spent a fair bit of time in while fighting his way through The Void.
By far the most eye-catching design is one that sees the hero wearing a near-exact replica of the character's original comic book costume. One glance at that and it's easy to understand why so many fans would like a Blade movie with Snipes returning in place of Ali's debuting vampire hunter.
"There is no Fox Marvel Universe or MCU without Blade first creating a market. He is Marvel Daddy. Please share for a Logan-like send-off," Reynolds recently said on social media. "The audience reaction when Wesley Snipes enters the movie is the most intense thing l've heard in a theater. People screaming with uninhibited joy and love is also the sound of a legacy. More Blade please."
Last month, Snipes said this about his Marvel return:
"I did not think it was possible. I didn't think we would be able to pull it off. I didn't think that Marvel was into it, Disney was into it — also because they had Mahershala cast for the next upcoming version of it. I thought it didn't make sense to me, but [when] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, 'Okay, I got to take this call. Let's see what this is about.' He told me the idea... They said 'yes' and 'it's a go.' 'If you're in, we're in.' Here we are."
Let us know which of these alternate Blade designs is your favourite down in the comments section.
Shawn Levy directs Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Matthew Macfadyen, and Dafne Keen. The movie is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy.
Kevin Feige, Reynolds, Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin serving as executive producers.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in theaters.