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While we should probably throw in a spoiler warning right about now, we’ll go out on a limb and assume if you’re reading this that you haven’t been living under a rock since the release of Deadpool & Wolverine last month.
Still number one at the box office since its theatrical release on July 27, the action-packed, cameo-filled superhero flick has been the talk of social media thanks to one scene in particular.
…don’t say we didn’t warn ya!
While Elektra fans were excited to see Jennifer Garner reprise her titular femme fatale role after almost 20 years, and X-Men fans finally got see Channing Tatum’s shelved incarnation of fan-favorite mutant Gambit, there was a special wave of shock that went across movie theaters nationwide when Wesley Snipes stepped out as Blade a full 20 years after his last stint as the titular character in 2004’s Blade: Trinity, which followed Blade II (2002) and the original Blade that actually jumpstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe all the way back in 1998.
Ryan Reynolds, co-lead of Deadpool & Wolverine and conductor of how it all came about, even took a minute to give each cameo star their flowers individually via Twitter last week. See below to read what he had to say in regards to the legacy Snipes created with the character of Blade:
A proper fourth Blade film, you don’t say? We can wholeheartedly agree with Ryan Reynolds on that one; Wesley Snipes definitely deserves a Blade send-off film! The fact that his surprise cameo even led to him acquiring two new Guinness World Records speaks for itself.
Looks like Wes agrees as well:
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While there might be some “healthy competition” going on at the moment between the Blade of yesterday and MCU’s upcoming incarnation of The Daywalker, played by two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali — more on that later! — the hype surrounding Snipes’ cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, paired with Hollywood’s love for all-things multiverse at the moment, prove that demand for Blade 4 is in high demand.
Blade went through its fair share of development woes before eventually premiering in August 1998. Actually, the original vision for Blade went from being a Mexico-based spaghetti western starring Richard Roundtree to LL Cool J being eyed as the lead star at one point. Funny enough (or not), the studio even proposed a ludicrous idea to actually make Blade white according to screenwriter David Goyer. As he told Entertainment Weekly back in 2018, “[New Line studio head] Mike DeLuca said ‘I’ll make [‘Blade’] for $40 million if you can get Denzel Washington, 35 if you can get Wesley Snipes, and 20 if you can get Laurence Fishburne.’ And that was it. We wanted Wesley.”
What resulted was one unforgettable post-punk bloodbath directed by Stephen Norrington.
Blade II would go on to surpass its predecessor at the box office four years later, this time directed by Guillermo del Toro. His trust in the vision Snipes had for the lead character proved to be unwavering, with the director quoted as stating, “Wesley knows Blade better than David Goyer, better than me, better than anyone else involved in the franchise. He instinctively knows what the character would and wouldn’t do, and every time he twists something around, something better would come out.”
While Blade: Trinity didn’t quite match the success of its previous films in the franchise following David Goyer’s decision to both direct and write the third film in 2004, it did well enough on an international scale to make back its budget and usher in Blade: The Series two years later with rapper Sticky Fingaz replacing Snipes.
We accepted the recast back then, but that was before anyone could’ve predicted that it would be two whole decades before we saw Wesley Snipes suit up as Blade once again.
As we wait to see what direction Marvel plans on taking the Blade franchise in, we’re just happy to see a fan-favorite Black superhero getting a well-deserved wave of fanfare either way. However, let’s hope both the potential of a Snipes-led Blade 4 send-off film and/or the planned Mahershala Ali-led project don’t fester in limbo for too much longer. The latter has been in production hell since it was officially announced back in July 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con, with fans praying the November 7, 2025 release date stays on schedule.
This fan-made trailer created using A.I. tells you enough about how great it could be:
Whether Wesley Snipes get his rightful flowers for contributions to the character of Blade and the MCU in general has yet to be determined. However, we would surely be there on opening day if The OG Daywalker gets his day to slay yet again.
See what others have been saying on social media about Wesley Snipes and why he (and we!) deserve a proper Blade send-off film:
1. Give me a Logan-style final Blade movie with Wesley Snipes or give me death.
via @dustinsmo17
2. Vampire dystopia where they learned to daywalk and took over. Humans are cattle. Brother Voodoo, part of the human resistance, learns #Blade was desiccated/entombed and resurrects him so they can hunt Varney and the Darkhold cult to wipe out all vampires. Treat it like Kurosawa.
via @BeauDemayo (Executive Producer/Creator, ‘X-Men 97’ Season 1)
3. Scrap it Make the Wesley Snipes led MCU based Blade 4 everybody ACTUALLY wants Recognize the man and the character that all made this possible in the first place Appease the fans JUST THIS ONCE
via @marthanoir39
4. Now that the movie been out for a couple of weeks I can finally talk about this. Seeing Wesley Snipes come back to play Blade was the highlight of the Deadpool movie. I remember being a little kid seeing and enjoying the Blade movies. Let not forget that Wesley Snipes paved the way for what Marvel can do now. As for now there’s only one Blade and there’s ever only gonna be one Blade.
via @Missval_X
5. Just put Wesley back on and give me Blade 4 dawg…
via @BlackRickFlair
6. Wesley Snipes saved Marvel. Marvel had just sold rights to Fantastic 4 and X Men to 20th Century Fox and Blade was their last hope for success.
via @carltonkitheka1
7. I’m happy that Ryan Reynolds gave Wesley Snipes & Blade their roses. People love to toss around this label but Blade was a legitimate gamechanger for Marvel & rated R superhero movies.
via @5Deuce4Tre7
8. Blade 4 is being Pitched for Wesley Snipes. Yeasssssss!
via @HighsmithMax
9. The people want Wesley, it’s not out of hate for Merhashala, it’s because Wesley is blade and is capable still. After all this drama it might be better for Merhashala to be in the movie as someone else who could eventually be the next blade. But for now Wesley is blade.
via @Otikage
10. There’s only one #Blade
via @wesleysnipes
