The original Blade actor reacts to rumors the vampire slayer is back for Deadpool & Wolverine.
Is Wesley Snipes taking a stab at the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Between 1998 and 2004, Snipes starred as the daywalker vampire-hunter in the blood-drenched Blade trilogy that ushered in the age of the modern Marvel movie. Disney’s Marvel Studios is rebooting Blade with two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Green Book) as the half-human, half-vampire Eric Brooks, but Snipes seemingly fueled rumors that the OG Blade — the all-black-leather-clad badass last seen starring opposite Ryan Reynolds in the “tortured production” Blade: Trinity — will cameo when Wade Wilson (Reynolds) and Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman) enter the MCU multiverse in Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine.
“Whuhuuuut?” the actor wrote on Twitter/X, the eyes emoji included, in response to a report claiming that Snipes is “already signed” on to appear in the MCU.
Whuhuuuut? 👀https://t.co/B8X9PRK9pb
— Wesley Snipes (@wesleysnipes) May 15, 2024
There’s precedent for characters in previously-shuttered continuities to crossover into the MCU. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprised their roles from the Sony-made Spider-Man movies, along with their rogues — including Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, and Jamie Foxx’s Electro — in Spider-Man: No Way Home, co-produced by Sony and Marvel Studios. And John Krasinski was the first actor to play Mister Fantastic in the MCU in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, only for Pedro Pascal to be cast as an alternate version in The Fantastic Four reboot.
It has been reported that (spoiler alert!) Jennifer Garner, who starred as the assassin Elektra Natchios in 2003’s Daredevil and its 2005 spinoff Elektra for Fox, is part of a cast that includes several returning actors from Fox’s X-Men franchise that ended unceremoniously with Dark Phoenix after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox’s film and television assets in 2019. Deadpool & Wolverine involves the Time Variance Authority (as seen on the Disney+ series Loki), meaning characters from other timelines and realities are fair game.
As for Snipes, he said he’s “all good” with his successor and Marvel Studios shortly after Kevin Feige announced Ali had been cast as Blade at San Diego Comic-Con back in July 2019.
“To all the DAYWALKERS losing their minds right now, chillaaxx,” he said in a statement provided to ComicBook. “Although the news comes as a surprise, it’s ALL GOOD. Such is the ‘business’ of ‘entertainment!’ Much peace to the MCU crew – always a fan. Honor and respect to the grandmaster Stan [Lee].”
Snipes’ statement continued: “Congratulations and Salaam to Mahershala Ali, a beautiful and talented artist whose expressions I look forward to experiencing for many years to come. Inshallah, we will someday work together. Most importantly to my loyal fans, the incredible outpouring of love is overwhelming. I am grateful for the never-ending support. So, ‘nah fret nah worry, it’s not de end of de story.’ Welcome to the Daywalker Klique.”
Lest anyone think there was any bad blood between Snipes and Ali, the Major League actor later confirmed he spoke with the MCU Blade-to-be in a 2021 interview. “The issue of him being cast wasn’t between us, I’m cool with that,” Snipes said at the time. “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.”
Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine opens only in theaters July 26; Ali’s Blade is currently slated for release on Nov. 7, 2025.
