In 1998, Wesley Snipes took a bite out of comic book cinema by starring in director Stephen Norrington’s Blade. The film introduced audiences to Blade, a half-vampire known as a daywalker, who dispatched demons of the night with style, one-liners, and inventive weaponry. New Line created two sequels to the original, with Blade 2 directed by Guillermo del Toro. After taking a dirt nap for several years, Blade is coming back as an anticipated member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Filming for a new Blade movie, starring Mahershala Ali as the title character, begins in a few days. Even though Ali stars as the lead character, many wonder if Snipes has room to return to the franchise. While no official plans have been reported, Snipes refuses to close the coffin on involvement in Blade’s future.
“Never say never. Long as I’m healthy and in shape, I can rock with them,” Snipes recently told ComicBook.com. “Yeah, as far as my predictions on if something like that happened in future, I don’t know. I don’t know. It seems to me if it would’ve happened, it would’ve happened already. But hey, never say never.”
While Wesley Snipes remains optimistic about Marvel Studios dropping him a line to officially join the MCU in some fashion in Blade, he says they have yet to make arrangements for his return. This situation includes any cameo appearances that fans could be hoping to see.
“We spoke. The issue of him being cast wasn’t between us, I’m cool with that,” Snipes said to Yahoo!‘s Kevin Polowy. “I don’t walk around as Blade, so I’m not attached to the character like that. I feel no emotional loss, zero, and I’m happy that he’s being recast and will more than likely do a great job.”
I think it’s cool that Snipes is so mature about laying his time as Blade to rest. Some actors refuse to let go of their most memorable characters and often become bitter when a younger actor replaces them. Thankfully, Snipes has been supportive of Ali stepping into the light as Blade and appears excited to see the character returning in a big way.
What do you think about Wesley Snipes finding his way into the MCU’s new Blade movie? Would it be confusing for him to show up? Could he play a different character? It seems like if he were going to be involved, it would be for the passing of the torch. That is not the plan, as far as I know. However, Marvel is always finding clever ways to surprise fans. Maybe Snipes is good at hiding his participation in the new film. Only time will tell, and we’ll be there to find out.