Wesley Snipes Breaks Two Guinness World Records with His Return as Blade in the New “Deadpool & Wolverine” Movie
Wesley Snipes’ portrayal of the legendary vampire-hunter in the “Blade” trilogy was iconic in many ways. When “Blade” came out on August 21st, 1998 (26 years ago today), it was the first majorly successful movie adaptation of a Marvel character, laying the groundwork for what would eventually become the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though “Iron Man” (2008) is often referenced as being the film that jump-started the MCU, everything began with Wesley Snipes’ “Blade.”
In addition to being a groundbreaker of the Marvel film world, Snipes now has not one, but two Guinness World Records under his belt with his historic theatrical return as Blade in the recently released “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Prior to the new “Deadpool” movie, Snipes last shouldered the Blade mantle in 2004 with his appearance as the iconic hero in “Blade: Trinity.” With just shy of a 20-year interval between “Trinity” and “Deadpool,” Snipes has claimed the titles of Longest Gap Between Character Appearances in Marvel Films and Longest Career as a Live-Action Marvel Character at 25 years and 340 days, as recognized by Guinness World Records. These two designations put Snipes in an unprecedented position in the Marvel universe, and could open the doors to a larger-scale resurrection for Wesley Snipes’ daywalker.
There is a moment in “Deadpool” where Snipes boasts that “there’s only been one Blade. There will only ever be one Blade,” which is likely a reference to the upcoming “Blade” movie with Mahershala Ali starring as the half-vampire superhero, currently in production. Whether Snipes’ line was meant as a playful remark on the repeatedly delayed status of the Ali-headed film, or if it points to a more substantial revival of Snipes’ version of Blade, remains unclear.
Marvel Studios announced its plans for the Ali-attached “Blade” film back in 2019, and since then the production has experienced various director changes and other mishaps along the way, resulting in several postponements and the eventual decision to tag it with a 2025 release date. And now, after Snipes’ legendary reappearance as Blade, the Ali film enters uncharted waters. On the one hand, Snipes’ return has reignited fans’ passion for seeing more of Blade on the big screen, which could prove to speed-up the upcoming film’s production process. But on the other hand, we’re reminded just how perfect Wesley Snipes is as the character, and that “there will only ever be one Blade,” as the man himself puts it.
Last month Marvel confirmed that the Ali-led “Blade” movie is still on track and set to hit theaters November 7th, 2025, but Snipes’ character comeback in “Deadpool” does raise some serious questions about what’s in store for the vampire-slayer. Even though it’s unlikely that Snipes will return to the role for a full-length starring position, there is still hope that he may don the daywalker’s black leather robe again at some point in the future.
