We've been hearing rumours for months that Wesley Snipes will return as Blade, and it was earlier this week that we learned the actor has indeed signed up for a future MCU appearance.
While X-Men and Spider-Man typically get the lion's share of credit for bringing superheroes back to theaters, Blade and Blade II arguably kickstarted the genre's return to prominence in the early 2000s. With that in mind, we find it easy to imagine Marvel Studios being keen to give Snipes the chance to bid farewell to the Daywalker after the disaster that was Blade: Trinity.
According to a rumour shared by scooper @MyTimeToShineH, Snipes has agreed to reprise his role as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine.
This makes more sense than the next Avengers movies as Mahershala Ali should have appeared in the Blade reboot by then. It's also worth remembering that Snipes and Ryan Reynolds have a history on screen.
It's no secret the former wasn't exactly a pleasure to work with on the set of 2004's Blade: Trinity. Based on what we've heard, Reynolds was baffled by Snipes after they shared the screen as Hannibal King and Blade, respectively, though almost two decades have passed since then.
In 2022, Reynolds said he had the "utmost respect" for Snipes' method acting, but acknowledged that he "never met Wesley, I only met Blade." Assuming there are no hard feelings, there's really no reason for the Deadpool threequel not to make this cameo a reality.
It would be wise to keep expectations in check for now, especially as it feels like many scoopers are just naming anyone and everyone from past Marvel movies simply because it's likely they'll show up. Still, Blade, Deadpool, and potentially Wolverine all sharing the screen at some point is an incredibly exciting prospect.
Shawn Levy directs Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen. The movie is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy.
The trades have confirmed that Jennifer Garner will reprise her role as Elektra, with Wesley Snipes, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Dafne Keen, Channing Tatum, Blake Lively and, as we mentioned above, even singer Taylor Swift among those rumoured to make an appearance.
Kevin Feige, Reynolds, Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin serving as executive producers.
Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26.