If any news pertaining to Marvel Studios coming out of San Diego Comic-Con excited me most, it probably had to be that of Blade‘s introduction into the MCU. As one would expect, this’ll come in the form of a reboot, with Mahershala Ali cast in the title role.
Understandably, True Believers the world over can’t help wondering what Wesley Snipes thinks about this situation. After all, he got the ball rolling more than two decades ago with the Daywalker’s first cinematic adventure. Not only that, but it was an important comic book movie in its own right because that flick opened the door for characters other than Batman and Superman.
As it turns out, it didn’t take long for Snipes to comment on the Blade reboot, as he provided the following classy statement 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. 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.”
I expected nothing less than kind words from Wesley because it was inevitable that another actor succeed him at some point. Hey, one man can’t play the same character forever – especially when it comes to separate continuities. Still, hope springs eternal for Snipes to play some kind of role in Marvel Studios’ production.
In case you didn’t know, Ali isn’t the first guy to follow in Snipes’ footsteps. For those unaware, there was a short-lived live action TV series that featured Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones as the vampire hunter. In addition to that, the character himself appeared in several animated series, including one of his own.
At the time of this writing, the next Blade movie lacks a release date, though we can say it won’t arrive any earlier than 2022. But since Ali’s already been enlisted and so much buzz is being generated, odds are we won’t have to wait too long. Stay tuned.
