Wesley Snipes is one of my favorite actors and is a major part of the reason why Blade is the recognizable character he is today, but he’s also going to turn 52 years old this year. By the time a Blade film or tv series would actually go into production, he would most likely be in his mid to late 50’s. If the production spawned sequels or multiple seasons, Snipes could be well into his 60’s. Wesley Snipes is a great martial artist and prides himself on staying in shape, but I just feel like he’s too old to start a Blade reboot. However, I do think that it would be wise to have Snipes as an executive producer considering that it was his charm and presence that made the Blade movies special. He also seemed to be the one of the few people involved with
Blade Trinity that didn’t like the script (and the script/movie as a whole was in fact terrible).
Blade launched the Comic Book Revolution following the
Batman and Robin debacle, so I think Marvel owes it to Snipes to at least allow Snipes some involvement with the reboot.
With that in mind, I think Mahershala Ali would be a great choice to lead the Blade reboot. He had an intimidating presence in the movie
Predators as Mombasa, the soldier from Sierra Leon. He also portrays Remy Danton in
House of Cards. Ali had a certain understated, cunning presence that was still able to stand out even amongst actors like Kevin Spacey. From a physical standpoint, he is 6’2” and pretty well built. I think he would bring the right combination of presence, intimidation, mystery and cunning to the role to be an effective Daywalker. Plus, with Wesley Snipes involved, I think he could assist Ali on what it takes to portray Blade and give him some great one-liners to say (Snipes always has the best one-liners). Many people have also suggested that Michael Jai White should play Blade. With Michael Jai White, I think he could play Blade (he has a great martial arts background just as Snipes does) but after seeing him in
Black Dynamite (A very underrated movie btw) I think he would be better served as Luke Cage.
Your Thoughts?