Day by day, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s army of multiversal cameos only gets bigger and bigger. Not to mention more and more unlikely. A new still from the upcoming summer superhero sensation even goes so far as to brazenly give away what looks like a surprise appearance from a character we weren’t expecting to see make their proper MCU debut until 2025, at the earliest.
That said, they aren’t exactly the version of this character we were anticipating seeing in the MCU. In fact, they’re not even the second version of this character we were anticipating seeing. Yes, it looks like Blade is about to join the Marvel Studios multiverse sooner rather than later — it’s just it won’t be either Mahershala Ali or Wesley Snipes but a whole other variant you probably forgot existed.
The new D&W still sees Logan and Wade in the Void, a wasteland occupied by many an obscure Marvel variant. Of those we can get glimpses of, this pic includes the likes of Toad, Callisto, and I’m pretty sure that’s Juggernaut’s helmet poking out just to the right of Wolvie’s head. And then, over to the far right by Deadpool? Unless we’re very much mistaken that appears to be Sticky Fingaz’s Blade!
Is Blade really cameoing in Deadpool & Wolverine?
Apparently, yes! It’s just not the Blade we already know and love or the one we’re hoping to get to know very soon (assuming Marvel can find a new director). In true anarchic Deadpool style, it looks like the threequel has instead decided to bring in a Blade that nobody loves. Namely, the variant from the short-lived Blade TV series.
No, honestly, there really was a Blade TV series. Following Blade: Trinity in 2004, 2006 delivered Blade: The Series, an attempt to reboot the Daywalker on the small screen starring Kirk Jones aka Sticky Fingaz in the title role. Airing on Spike (not The CW, as many fans are erroneously claiming), the show only managed to bleed out 13 episodes before it was cancelled and quietly disappeared into Marvel history… Until now.
Trust Ryan Reynolds to hear the fans crying out for a Blade cameo and subvert our expectations. Not that there was ever a chance Snipes was going to come back for this one, given his and Reynolds’ past problems.