Im Convinced That Wesley Snipes Will Play Blade Again Before Mahershala Ali Joins The MCU

1 day ago 2

I believe there is a big chance we will see Wesley Snipes play Blade again before Mahershala Ali's Marvel Cinematic Universe movie finally arrives. Snipes is one of the main actors responsible for live-action superhero movies taking off the way they did, eventually leading to the creation of the MCU. From 1998 to 2004, Snipes starred in the Blade movie trilogy, making the Daywalker known to non-comic book readers. The vampire hunter quickly became a popular character, and even though Snipes' last Blade film, 2004's Blade: Trinity, had its fair share of issues, fans continued to ask for his return.

That finally happened in the MCU of all places, with Snipes playing Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine. I enjoyed the actor's return as his iconic Marvel character, and I'm convinced that we have not seen the last of Snipes as Blade. In fact, I think there is a huge chance that Mahershala Ali's Blade movie will not be released during the Multiverse Saga. This way, Snipes could remain as the MCU's only Blade until this saga is over, passing the torch to Ali when the franchise's next chapter begins in a few years.

Blade’s Latest Delay Is Not Surprising

Mahershala Ali's Blade Debut Received Bad News

In a way, Ali's Blade has already appeared in the MCU, as the character had a voice cameo in Eternals' post-credits scene. However, I don't count that as the actor's debut as Blade, as Ali still needs to formally appear as the Marvel character onscreen. Well, it seems like that might still be a long time from happening. Marvel Studios has delayed Blade indefinitely, taking the movie off its November 2025 slot and the MCU's release schedule as a whole. While the update is surely negative, I can't say it was surprising in the slightest.

Blade's production issues have been very public for some time. I had no faith that Blade would be ready for release in November 2025. Mahershala Ali's MCU debut has been in the works for five years, with the actor having been announced as the MCU's Blade back at 2019's San Diego Comic-Con. Since then, it seems like no major progress has been made with the film. Delays caused by creative reasons, the pandemic, and the 2023 Hollywood strikes kept impacting Blade. The movie was delayed from 2023 to 2024 to 2025 before finally being removed from the release schedule.

With so many issues over the years and no director attached, I expected Blade to be delayed, so Marvel's announcement made sense.

Blade has had several writers take a crack at the movie's script over the years. Reports on the film's story have ranged from Blade taking care of his daughter to the movie being set in the 1920s to Kit Harington's Black Knight playing a role in the film and more. Blade's original director, Bassam Tariq, departed the project in 2022, with replacement director Yann Demange also choosing to leave the Blade movie this June. With so many issues over the years and no director attached, I expected Blade to be delayed, so Marvel's announcement made sense.

I Want More Of Wesley Snipes’ Blade After Deadpool & Wolverine

The Marvel Actor Showed That He Still has What It Takes

While Mahershala Ali's Blade still has to debut, the MCU has already brought a version of the Daywalker to the big screen. I was shocked to see Wesley Snipes return as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine. By all accounts, Snipes and Ryan Reynolds clashed on the set of Blade: Trinity, so seeing the two come together again, now as Blade and Deadpool, was an exciting surprise. I thought Snipes did not miss a beat in the role. After 20 years, the actor brought back the same cool, scary, and snarky Blade that fans came to love.

2:28

Ryan Reynolds & Wesley Snipes Had A Legendary Feud On The Set Of This Forgotten Marvel Movie

Blade: Trinity had an infamous production, marked by several feuds including one between Reynolds and Snipes that has finally been addressed.

Deadpool & Wolverine made the right choice by including Snipes' Blade as a member of the Void's Resistance. Every character who was in the group had a role to play, with Blade being the only one to come from his own successful movie series. With all the problems surrounding Ali's Blade, many fans have been asking since Deadpool & Wolverine was released for Marvel to keep Snipes as the MCU's Blade. The R-rated movie even featured the perfect reference to Blade's tricky situation, with Snipes' Daywalker saying, "There’s only been one Blade. There will only ever be one Blade."

The MCU Has Set Up Some Perfect Opportunities To Have Wesley Snipes Return As Blade

Deadpool & Wolverine's Resistance Can Return Relatively Soon

Despite being 62, Snipes showed in Deadpool & Wolverine that he could easily return as Blade in more MCU projects. Ryan Reynolds has talked about a Logan-like sendoff film for Snipes' Blade. While I would love to see that happen, with the iconic Daywalker going out as the lead of a film in R-rated glory, I'm convinced that we still haven't seen the last of him in the MCU. Deadpool & Wolverine ended with Dafne Keen's X-23 having dinner with Deadpool's friends and Wolverine. Channing Tatum's Gambit return was later teased in a deleted scene.

That leaves only Jennifer Garner's Elektra and Wesley Snipes' Blade without teases to return. However, with X-23 and Gambit likely to come back in future MCU projects, I can see an easy way to get the whole Resistance back in play. Avengers: Secret Wars is set to be the end of the Multiverse Saga. If Snipes does not return as Blade before the film, then I feel there is no way that the MCU will not use him in Secret Wars. The movie should feature several multiverse characters, and the Resistance's fan-favorite status makes the team's return very likely.

I Think That Blade’s Delay Could Make Mahershala Ali Skip The Multiverse Saga

The MCU Already Has "One Blade" For The Multiverse Saga

I think that if Marvel were to completely drop Ali's Blade movie, it would have done so already. As such, despite Blade being removed from the MCU's release schedule, I'm still confident that the movie will eventually be made. However, that is looking more and more likely to happen after the Multiverse Saga is over. Marvel still has two slots for unnamed MCU movies in 2026, on February 13 and November 6. If Blade was meant to be moved to one of them, I believe that Marvel Studios would have announced that decision when the delay was made public.

Blade Movies

Release Year

Blade	1998
Blade 2	2002
Blade: Trinity	2004
Blade (MCU)	TBD

As it stands, it seems like Blade could be delayed to 2027, after Avengers: Secret Wars, as there are untitled Marvel Studios projects set for July and November, or 2028, with Marvel recently adding three slots for MCU movies. If that were to happen, then Wesley Snipes would serve as the MCU's one and only Blade during the Multiverse Saga. I'm more than okay with that, as a multiverse Blade variant appearing in major films fits the saga more than a full-on Blade movie that would have felt disconnected from the larger Multiverse Saga.

Marvel Studios' Blade sees the return of the iconic vampire hunter more than two decades after Wesley Snipes first played the character in live-action. Starring Mahershala Ali as Eric Brooks, the Blade reboot officially introduces vampires to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Eternals' second post-credits scene teased the Daywalker's MCU debut.