Actor Wesley Snipes, who played Blade in three feature films, and had been actively campaigning to reprise his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe reacted to news that Marvel cast Mahershala Ali as Blade at San Diego Comic-Con.
Snipes spoke to ComicBook.com:
“To all the DAYWALKERS losing their minds right now, chillaaxx. 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.”
He added:
“Honor and respect to the grandmaster Stan. 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.”
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige revealed how Ali got the role to The Hollywood Reporter. He detailed that Ali called him after winning an Oscar for Green Book.
Feige stated, “When Mahershala calls, you answer. At the meeting, Ali came right out and said that he wanted to do Blade. That was that.”
Snipes had been campaigning for the role as recently as February of this year when he posted a picture of himself as Blade and stated, “There’s only one #Blade.”
There's only one #Blade pic.twitter.com/r9UPRURRVu
— WS (@wesleysnipes) February 5, 2018
Rumors of a Blade film starring Snipes surfaced this past March. Those rumors indicated Blade would be training his daughter, most likely Fallon Grey. Fallon Grey is a character originally announced by Marvel that would get her own on-going series from writer Tim Seeley. However, the series never came to be.
Nevertheless, Seeley did provide some details about the character and what he had planned describing her as an “anti-Peter Parker.” Seeley added, “She’s popular, well liked, and everyone around her thinks she has the future by the balls. But those kind of expectations come with their own stresses, and part of Fallon’s story will be dealing with what people expect her to be.”
Seeley also discussed Grey’s relationship with Blade, “Initially, their relationship [between Blade and Fallon] is all about what they share — a stubborn refusal to change or see new viewpoints.” He added, “They’ll be completely and totally antagonistic, and the fun will be in seeing whether a guy like Blade can become a father, and whether a girl like Fallon can become a student and a daughter.”
It’s unclear if this newly announced Blade movie starring Ali will feature Fallon Grey or focus on Blade mentoring a daughter figure.
What do you make of Wesley Snipe’s reaction? Do you want to see Wesley Snipes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the future? Do you want to see him get a cameo in the upcoming Blade film?