Wesley Snipes Is Open To Returning As Blade In The MCU

Though the franchise is getting a different face in the role soon, Wesley Snipes says he is still open to returning as Blade in the near future. Snipes first brought the Marvel superhero to life with the eponymous 1998 movie helmed by Stephen Norrington and penned by future Dark Knight trilogy co-writer David S. Goyer. Blade followed Snipes' dhampir vampire hunter as he worked with his partner, Stephen Dorff's Abraham Whistler, to put a stop to Stephen Dorff's Deacon Frost before he can awaken an ancient blood god and conquer the human race.

Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics upon its release, Blade proved to be a hit with audiences and at the box office, grossing over $131 million against its $45 million budget, saving Marvel during its financial troubles and setting the stage for future adaptations of their works. The film's success also led to a trilogy with Snipes reprising his role for all three films and Goyer penning the script for both Blade II, which was helmed by Guillermo del Toro, and Blade: Trinity, which he himself directed. Due to the drop in critical reception and box office returns, the Blade property went dormant as the rights eventually reverted to Marvel Studios and while they have plans for the character within the MCU, its former star is hopeful to make his way back to the fold.

While speaking with ComicBook.com to discuss his Kickstarter graphic novel The Exiled, Wesley Snipes shared his thoughts on a possible Blade return. The actor confirmed he is still open to returning as the vampire hunter for the MCU, though notes he hasn't been approached by Marvel Studios for any kind of part in the franchise. See what Snipes said below:

"Never say never. Long as I'm healthy and in shape, I can rock with them. Yeah, as far as my predictions on if something like that happened in future, I don't know. I don't know. It seems to me if it would've happened, it would've happened already. But hey, never say never. No, [Marvel Studios has not approached me] as of yet. I'm still working on my acting skills. So when I come up as an actor, maybe they'll reach out and say, 'Let's have a conversation,' or maybe they don't feel I'm ensemble player."

Snipes' new comments about a possible Blade return should come as welcome news for fans of his portrayal of the character, namely in its contrast to his previous discussions about being disinterested in appearing in the MCU reboot. The months since have seen Snipes express his support for Mahershala Ali taking over as Blade for the MCU, knowing the two-time Oscar winner would "do great" with the role and offering advice to stay in shape to avoid any major injuries for the action sequences required of the part. While Snipes' performance in the original Blade trilogy generally received positive reviews for his dark sense of humor, it was the actor's dedication to performing his own action stunts that is generally considered the highlight of his time in the role.

While Snipes' note that he hasn't heard from Marvel Studios about possibly appearing in the Blade MCU reboot, his interest in reprising the role does keep the door open for him to come back as the vampire hunter. With the MCU recently diving into the multiverse and seeing the returns of fan-favorite actors Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Patrick Stewart as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the opportunity is there for Marvel to feature multiple versions of Blade in the future, be it the MCU reboot reportedly set to begin filming next month or elsewhere. In the meantime, audiences can revisit Snipes' tenure in the role with the Blade trilogy available to stream on HBO Max now.

More: MCU Blade Reboot Will Be Very Different (But Can't Ignore Snipes' Movies)

Source: ComicBook.com