Aug
Ryan Reynolds Calls for ‘More Blade’ in Tribute to Wesley Snipes
“The reaction when Wesley Snipes enters the movie is the most intense thing I’ve ever heard in a theater,” Ryan Reynolds shared in a heartfelt Instagram post, expressing his admiration for his Deadpool & Wolverine co-star.
Wesley Snipes, who has long been revered for his portrayal of Blade, received a warm and enthusiastic tribute from Reynolds, who posted a series of photos of Snipes on Instagram. Reynolds captioned the post, “The reaction when [Wesley Snipes] enters the movie is the most intense thing l’ve heard in a theater. People screaming with uninhibited joy and love is also the sound of a legacy.”
Snipes first brought the iconic character Blade, a human-vampire hybrid, to life in a trilogy of films starting in 1998. These movies were produced by Marvel, long before the studio became the entertainment powerhouse it is today. Snipes reprised his role in Deadpool & Wolverine, where Blade joined forces with Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to take down the villainous Cassandra Nova, played by Emma Corin. Reynolds concluded his post with a call for more Blade, specifically a “Logan-style send-off,” referencing the critically acclaimed 2017 film that marked Wolverine’s poignant farewell.
Reynolds’ connection to Snipes and the Blade character runs deep. Before his iconic turn as Deadpool in 2016, Reynolds appeared as Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity (2004), a character from The Tomb of Dracula comics, which also introduced Blade. Many credit Snipes’ portrayal of Blade with paving the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), as the original Blade (1998) was the first Marvel film to achieve widespread critical acclaim and hint at the potential for a larger cinematic universe.
Snipes isn’t the only blast from Marvel’s past to make an appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine. The resistance group Blade allies with in the film includes Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Dafne Keen as Wolverine’s daughter Laura, and Channing Tatum as Gambit. Tatum’s Gambit had been planned for a solo film under Fox, but the project never materialized.
The film also features a host of other notable guest stars, including Rob Delaney, Henry Cavill, Chris Evans, and Tom Holland’s brother, though, notably, Halle Berry is absent from the star-studded cast.
Deadpool & Wolverine has just surpassed Joker to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, amassing a staggering $1.086 billion worldwide in just five weeks. However, it still falls short of dethroning this year’s box office champion, Inside Out 2, which has earned over $1.5 billion globally.
Unfortunately, Snipes’ appearance as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine may be his last, as Marvel is currently developing a reboot of the character starring Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali. The reboot has faced numerous challenges, including the departure of both actors and directors.
In a light-hearted comment on the production’s difficulties, Snipes recently joked on X, “Blade, lordylordylordy 👀 folks still lookin for the secret sauce, ridin snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough. Daywalkers make it look easy, don’t they?”
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