Wesley Snipes discusses returning to play Blade one more time, continues to support the casting of Mahershala Ali in the reboot
Deadpool & Wolverine just broke records over its opening weekend, becoming the highest R-rated opening of all time both worldwide and domestic, drawing in more than $440 million at the global box office… but if you (like me) haven’t made it out to see the movie yet, you should be aware that there are SPOILERS ahead: as made public at the San Diego Comic-Con, Wesley Snipes makes a cameo in the film, reprising the role of Blade, a Marvel Comics character he hasn’t played since starring in a trilogy of Blade movies twenty-plus years ago. Now he has discussed his cameo with Entertainment Weekly, and we have some quotes below.
Snipes told EW that he had accepted the fact that he was moving on from the Blade franchise, especially since Mahershala Ali has been cast to play the character in an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of the property (a project that has been in development for five years now). Snipes was “moving on from them, which is okay. I did three of them, and I thought they turned out pretty good. Not so bad… So we move on to other things, and bigger and better things, as well.” But then he received a text from Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds, saying, “I want to talk to you.”
“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.” Snipes found it to difficult to keep the cameo as secret, but he even managed to conceal his Deadpool & Wolverine involvement from his family. A bigger challenge was getting back into Blade shape. “I wasn’t Blade ready, man. I don’t walk around as Blade every day, you know what I mean? With a trench coat and shades and fangs in my mouth. We had to work out. We definitely had to get the body, and my biggest concern was being in condition enough to deal with whatever the action was. They didn’t really tell me what the action was going to be, so I prepared for whatever that was going to come. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do as much as I thought I would because the action movies are tough. They’re not easy at all by any means. About a month into it, I got the body right… and then, with the help of a little customized foam well placed in certain areas, it was all good to go, baby. Let’s ride!“
Snipes did get to participate in an action sequence – which was shot in the freezing cold during the winter in Europe, so that wasn’t pleasant. He enjoyed the overall experience, though, and had praise for Reynolds, who co-starred in Blade: Trinity with him twenty years ago. “Some of the things he did back in those days (on Blade: Trinity), that’s not really my humor. I’m not tuned in that way. So I thought, ‘Well, it’s a little over the top for me.’ But seeing him do it in this context [in Deadpool & Wolverine] made a lot of sense. And seeing him do it and do it well, Ryan does something that most people can’t do. He’s unique in that way, and he’s found a fantastic niche for himself doing what he does. Deadpool is Ryan Reynolds all day long. So it was enjoyable. It was enjoyable to work with him. It was enjoyable to revisit.“
All that said, Snipes still supports the casting of Ali in the Blade reboot. “I shouted him out, told him he’s got all my blessings and support. I even referenced the fact that some of the challenges they’re facing now with the project, it shouldn’t be accredited to him. It’s not the actor’s fault. There’s a lot more that goes on with pulling this Blade stuff off. You need a lot of secret sauce to do the Blade thing, man. Good luck. You’re my man, though.“
What do you think of Wesley Snipes making a cameo as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine? Let us know by leaving a comment below.