The news that Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali would be taking over the iconic role of Blade in the MCU was met with a very positive reaction, but there are still many fans who have a hard time picturing anyone but Wesley Snipes in the role. But while he might not be reprising his role as the Daywalker, Snipes stated that he would be open to making a cameo in the new Marvel Studios movie.
While promoting his upcoming role in Eddie Murphy's Coming 2 America with ET Online, Snipes was asked about his feelings on the MCU's upcoming version of Blade. Snipes insisted that he was very supportive of the idea and when asked about appearing in the movie he said, "You never know. Under the right circumstances, I'm open to play with everybody." Though he is receptive to the idea of a cameo, Snipes also confirmed that he has not yet been approached about any such involvement in the new Blade project.
Kevin Feige announced the reboot of Blade during Marvel's Phase 4 panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. Ali, who had previously starred in the Netflix series Luke Cage as Cottonmouth, appeared on stage at that event to announce the project to a huge reaction from the crowd. It was later revealed the Ali himself came to Feige with the idea of bringing the character back to the big screen. Since then, movement on the project has been relatively quiet, but news that Watchmen writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour had come aboard confirms that it is moving forward.
The character of Blade, a vampire hunter who is half-vampire himself, helped usher in the age of comic book blockbusters. Snipes first appeared in the role in 1996's Blade, which was later followed by Blade II and Blade: Trinity. While some of the movies were more well-received than others, fans and critics were firmly agreed that Snipes was perfect in the role and it quickly became his most famous role to date.
The idea of Snipes making a cameo appearance in the new Blade movie is immediately exciting, but the idea might be more fun than actually seeing it happen. Despite his career faltering due to legal issues, Snipes seems to be making a strong comeback with the upcoming film Coming 2 America and other high-profile roles. It seems unlikely any cameo would allow him to do anything except give a nod to fans of the original movies.
Likewise, it might not be fair for Snipes to show up while Ali is trying to make the role his own. Tom Holland was able to establish himself as Spider-Man without Tobey Maguire popping up to wink at fans. Whether or not Snipes does appear, it will be fun to see how such a cool hero as Blade is integrated into the ever-growing MCU.
Marvel Studios' Blade is currently in development.
Source: ET Online