It has become obvious that Deadpool & Wolverine was a massive win for Marvel and the MCU. It’s a much-needed one as well, considering the streak of poor-performing formulaic releases that recently plagued the world’s largest cinematic universe. As Ryan Reynolds promised, the movie didn’t disappoint; not only is it the first R-rated MCU movie, but it also became the highest-grossing R-rated movie in the history of cinema. It’s currently a really good contender for becoming the highest-grossing movie title of 2024. So let’s talk about how Wesley Snipes contributes to this.
It is actually a really entertaining and genuine cinematic experience in Deadpool & Wolverine that showed that Disney and Marvel can certainly joke at their own expense. Not only that, but the movie features A-list cameos that include Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Channing Tatum as Gambit, Chris Evans as the Human Torch, and Dafne Keen as X-23. But out of all the actors that appear on the screen, Wesley Snipes‘ appearance as Blade — the legendary Blade — gained the most positive reactions.
Snipes, who’s now 61 years old, shocked fans when he appeared as the fan-favorite Daywalker that first appeared on the silver screen in the same-name movie from 1998, giving birth to the entire trilogy of Blade movies ending with 2004’s Blade: Trinity. In fact, Ryan Reynolds recently took to Instagram to share his admiration for Wesley Snipes, calling him “Marvel Daddy” in a series of nostalgic photos. This praise comes after their past tension on the set of Blade: Trinity, where Reynolds co-starred with Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biel, and Dominic Purcell.
For those who aren’t in the know, the situation on the set of Blade: Trinity was (reportedly) complicated. Wesley Snipes had a hard time agreeing with the film’s director, David S. Goyer, and his co-star, Ryan Reynolds. So much so that there were reports of an altercation between Snipes and Goyer becoming physical. When asked about it, Goyer simply responded that he’s no longer friends with Wesley Snipes, but still has tremendous respect for him as an actor.
While less bombastic than refusing to cooperate with the film’s director, Snipes also feuded with Ryan Reynolds during the production of Blade: Trinity. This mostly stemmed from Reynolds’ comedic antics and scene-stealing performances. This feud became something of a Hollywood legend, which greatly contributed to the assumption that the two actors disliked each other. With that said, during a 2004 interview regarding the movie, Reynolds stated that the alleged tensions between him and Snipes were “overblown.”
Despite previous disagreements, Reynolds expressed appreciation for Snipes’ role in paving the way for Marvel movies in his Instagram post. Truly, Snipes’ portrayal of Blade was instrumental in establishing the superhero genre in film, sparking excitement and nostalgia among fans. This post highlights Snipes’ lasting impact on the Marvel universe and symbolizes a positive shift in the Marvel landscape.
Snipes, on the other hand, admitted that he didn’t think either Disney or Marvel were interested in his cameo. This was especially since Fox was acquired by Disney, and the company had cast Mahershala Ali for the upcoming version of Blade. However, after he was informed that both Disney and Marvel were on board with him reprising his most iconic role, one thing led to another, and Snipes returned to the role two decades after the release of Blade: Trinity.
All of that didn’t stop Reynolds from using the alleged feud as one of Deadpool’s trademark meta retorts in the scene in which Blade notes that he doesn’t like the eponymous hero, to which the Merc with Mouth casually replies, “You never liked me.” This directly referenced not just the alleged feud but also the tension between Hannibal King and Blade — Ryan Reynolds and Wesley Snipes’ respective characters in Blade: Trinity.
With this return to the character, Wesley Snipes surpassed Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine run to serve as the longest time spent playing a Marvel character in the film and has the longest gap between Marvel movie appearances as the same character. The former is pretty self-explanatory, but the latter was previously held by Alfred Molina for his appearances as Doc Oc in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Both of these two records set by Snipes are acknowledged by Guinness World Records.
So, yes, we can say that the Marvel Jesus got his chance to run just because Blade was there to walk. Though, to be entirely honest, Ryan Reynolds had to advocate strongly to get Deadpool made, mostly because studios were hesitant to greenlight an R-rated superhero film. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that Blade and its success are often credited with helping to revitalize interest in comic book movies, which did set the stage for the later creation of the MCU — where Mahershala Ali’s Blade is set to receive his own film in late 2025. We hope.