Summary
Despite the likes of Fox’sX-Menand Sony’sSpider-Mantaking the honor of kick-starting the ongoing trend of comic book movies, Steven Norrington’sBladeis an often forgotten part ofMarvelmovie history. Having churned out a trilogy of movies between 1998 and 2004,Blade: Trinitywas the end of the road for New Line Cinema’s franchise. Still, this wasn’t the end ofMarvel’s plans for the character.
Following the success of Steven Norrington’s firstBlademovie, the reins of the franchise were handed over to Guillermo del Toro for 2002’sBlade II. Before work had even started on the sequel, New Line had signed a deal with David S. Goyer to write a third movie. Although del Toro stayed on to do conceptual artwork, Goyer himself stepped up to direct. DespiteBlade: Trinitymaking a reasonable $132 million at the box office, afourthBlademovienever happened. But was it ever supposed to?
What Happened After Blade: Trinity?
Aside from being the worst-reviewed entry in the trilogy, there were rumors ofbehind-the-scenes drama onBlade: Trinityand a general fatigue for the franchise from Snipes.Trinity’s box office profits matched the original, but coming in behindBlade II, it might’ve been a gamble to continue the series. It’s important to note there’s no concrete evidence thatBlade 4was ever officially on New Line’s radar.
There were confirmed plans to continue the story in a different way, as Norrington pitched a prequel trilogy that would focus on the character of Deacon Frost. Stephen Dorff played the villainous Frost in 1998’dBlade, telling The Sunday Mail in 2008:
“Frost is a character I have never been able to shake.”
Dorff told the outlet that this ‘new trilogy’ was due to start filming in 2009, but that obviously never happened. Another tantalizing tease of projects that never happened came from Kate Beckinsale, who said that a crossover between theUnderworldfranchise had been planned afterBlade: Trinity. Ultimately, the rights to Blade reverted back to Marvel from New Line in 2012.
Blade: Trinitywasn’t quite the end of Snipes’ time in the leather jacket or Blade’s live-action legacy. In the aftermath ofTrinity, Goyer createdBlade: The Seriesfor Spike, with Sticky Fingaz taking over from Snipes. Criticized for Snipes’ absence and for being a clichéd vampire series, the network pulled the plug after just 13 episodes. As for Snipes, he had a notablecameo in 2024’sDeadpool & Wolverine.
Speaking toEntertainment Weeklyabout how his return to the role happened, Snipes said: “I did three of them, and I thought they turned out pretty good. Not so bad… So we move on to other things.” A chance text fromBlade: Trinityco-star Ryan Reynolds sparked conversations about suiting up again, and in Snipes’ own words:
“[When] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, ‘Okay, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about.'"
Playing a small but memorable role alongside Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Dafne Keen’s X-23, and Channing Tatum’s Gambit, Snipes was part of the Void resistance fighting againstEmma Corrin’s wasted Cassandra Nova. Even though Blade’s fate is left up in the air, the movie’s ending featuring X-23 and a deleted scene showing Gambit’s survival suggest that Blade might’ve also survived a run-in with Alioth.
Blade’s MCU Debut Has Just Been Staked
After news first spread that the MCU was working on a script for aBladereboot, Snipes said he was exploring options of reprising his role and had been in discussions with the studio. That was in 2015, but after things went deathly quiet, aBladerebootwas eventually announced in 2019. Snipes was out, but instead,True Detective’s Mahershala Ali was due to take the lead.Despite his clear affection for the role, Snipes doesn’t seem bitter about the whole thing and has at least offered Ali his own words of advice. Speaking in the EW interview, Snipes said:
“You need a lot of secret sauce to do the Blade thing, man. Good luck. You’re my man, though."
Ali claims there were early talks of the Blade reboot being a TV series instead of a movie, saying it took “a couple of years” to work things out. Production has been shifted several times, it’s been hard to lock in a director, and aside from Ali, it’s been hard to nail down down a cast. Up there with theDon Cheadle-ledArmor Wars,Bladeis a project that’s been consistently in trouble.
Unfortunately, Disney has just run a stake through hopes of seeing the movie anytime soon, with its release date being removed and it being shelved ‘indefinitely.’ The only plus side is that news of the delay seemingly confirmed Mia Goth is set to play Lilith. There’s a sense of irony to this consideringSnipes’Deadpool & Wolverinecameofeatures him saying that while there are multiple Punisher variants, there’s “only one Blade.”
Hopefully, all is not lost for Ali. Just because theBlademovie is on hold, that doesn’t mean he can’t play him in other projects. The actor has technically already made his debut in thepost-credit scene ofEternals, and with whispers that a dark and magical outing is on the way for the Midnight Suns team, Ali could soon be starring alongside the likes of Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight,Eternals’ Kit Harington, andWerewolf by Night’s Gael García Bernal.
While Snipes' cameo felt perfect for the comedy ofDeadpool & Wolverine, others say his tenure has largely run its course. That hasn’t stopped RyanReynolds from calling for a Logan-inspired sendofffor the character, admitting that working with Snipes again has proved how much love there is for the character. Marvel has been trying to get out of the shadow of Snipes' Blade for well over a decade now, but aside from a potential appearance from the OG actor in the crossover chaos ofAvengers: Secret Wars, it could be time for that era of the character to take a trip back to the crypt.
