Wesley Snipes Shares The Advice He Gave His Replacement For The Blade Reboot
Wesley Snipes had some great advice for Mahershala Ali who will be taking over the lead character in the Blade reboot for Marvel. It should help Ali get ready for the part
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Fans of the hit vampiric superhero film, Blade, have long waited for news on the return of their favorite Dhampiric superhero, iconically portrayed by Wesley Snipes. And although we now know that the titular character will be making his return, this time into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Snipes will not be back as our favorite vampire hunter. Although many fans are upset that the actor won’t reprise his epochal role, Snipes himself recently showed his support for Blade’s new frontrunner, even dishing up some advice for the new man taking up the role.
Senior Correspondent for Yahoo News, Kevin Polowy, recently talked with the ex Blade star. Polowy asked Wesley Snipes if he had spoken with Mahershala Ali, the academy award-winning actor that will next portray Eric Brooks (Blade), to which Snipes replied yes. Snipes was also quick to state that he told Ali that he holds no ill-will for not getting the role, stating that he is not emotionally attached to the character anymore. Polowy also went on to ask Snipes what advice he would give his Blade replacement. To this question, the 59-year-old actor had a simple response: get in elite shape. Snipes pointed out the demands of action movies require you to keep your body in perfect shape to help avoid injuries on set. And other than the fitness tip, Wesley Snipes shared the sentiment “enjoy it while it lasts”.
Wesley Snipes portrayed Blade for three films spanning nearly a decade. The character was first created by Marv Wolfman for Marvel Comics in 1973. But it wasn’t until Snipes would portray the character in 1998’s film from New Line Cinema that the franchise would receive a monumental following. In the lore, Blade’s mother was bitten by a vampire while in labor with him. This rendered Blade immune to being turned into a vampire. In the first film, Blade grows up to become a vampire hunter, swearing vengeance for his mother. The film quickly became a commercial success as it grossed over $131 million worldwide, and spawned two more films. While many critics point to the original Spiderman trilogy, or even the X-Men trilogy films as being the catalyst for the current day success of the MCU, the success of Blade was truly the starting point, and Wesley Snipes’ quintessential portrayal of Blade helped make the MCU what it is today.
While it has been over two years since the official announcement from Marvel Studios President Kevin Fiege that the MCU would be getting a Blade film, there is still very little known surrounding the details of the project. All we know, save for the announcement, is that Mahershala Ali would be the newest actor charged with portraying the dark superhero. The newcomer to the MCU follows a familiar trend with the studio hiring in-demand upcoming Hollywood faces. Ali is best known for his role in the 2016 Academy best picture film, Moonlight, for which he also won an Academy for Best Supporting Actor.
Although fan reactions to the recasting of Blade have been mixed, Wesley Snipes himself seems to be happy at the choice Marvel made in casting Ali as the new Blade. Last week, the actor retweeted a photo of Ali, next to himself as Blade, with the caption, “He will do great”. As we await Marvel to unravel more news on the upcoming film, we can always hope that the studio might bring back Snipes, if not just for a small cameo, for the upcoming reboot, and further mentor his young Hollywood predecessor on just what it takes to become the dark superhero.
