Wesley Snipes is assuring both “Blade” fans and reboot lead star Mahershala Ali that production delays are never the “actor’s fault.”
Original “Blade” actor Snipes told Entertainment Weekly that while rumors have swirled that the rotating door of writers and directors attached to the MCU film is in part due to Ali not being satisfied with different creators’ visions for the script, Ali is not to blame for the project still being in development. The “Blade” reboot was first announced in 2019.
“I shouted him out, told him he’s got all my blessings and support,” Snipes said. “I even referenced the fact that some of the challenges they’re facing now with the project, it shouldn’t be accredited to him.”
Snipes continued, “It’s not the actor’s fault. There’s a lot more that goes on with pulling this ‘Blade’ stuff off. You need a lot of secret sauce to do the ‘Blade’ thing, man. Good luck. You’re my man, though.”
Snipes led the franchise beginning with the 1998 tentpole film “Blade,” followed by 2002’s “Blade II” and 2004’s “Blade: Trinity.” He recently reprised the role for a surprise cameo in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
“I did not think it was possible,” Snipes said of returning as Blade. “I didn’t think we would be able to pull it off. I didn’t think that Marvel was into it, Disney was into it — also because they had Mahershala cast for the next upcoming version of it.”
He added that multiple other “Blade” projects have been considered, but none were greenlit.
“Over the years, we’ve had very interesting conversations, some of them very substantive and some of them not,” Snipes said. “So I kind of resided that I was moving on from them, which is okay. I did three of them, and I thought they turned out pretty good. Not so bad…So we move on to other things, and bigger and better things, as well.”
Back in 2019, Snipes shared his support for Ali’s casting in the titular role, despite saying the reboot was a “surprise” to him.
“Congratulations and Salaam to Mahershala Ali, a beautiful and talented artist whose expressions I look forward to experiencing for many years to come. Inshallah, we will someday work together,” Snipes told ComicBook.com. “Most importantly to my loyal fans, the incredible outpouring of love is overwhelming. I am grateful for the never-ending support. So, ‘nah fret nah worry, it’s not de end of de story.’ Welcome to the Daywalker Klique.”
Snipes later deemed Oscar winner Ali a “talented actor [who] appreciates the craft, the art form of acting” to Forbes.
“But at the end of the day, his performance is not in a microcosm. It’s not by itself. The production, the other actors, the other producers, and creators have to all gel together for the film to work,” Snipes said. “So we wish them well. Go for it; good luck.”
Ali told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 that he was still “encouraged” by how “Blade” development was going and that the film would resume pre-production “relatively soon.” “Blade” is still set for November 2025 despite the recent exit of director Yann Demange. Previously, helmer Bassam Tariq and screenwriters Stacy Osei-Kuffour and Michael Green were among the creatives involved.
