Mahershala Ali has been preparing to take on Blade in his first MCU outing. While many fans were excited about Ali’s casting, some felt a little sour that original star Wesley Snipes passed over for the chance to join the MCU. Some viewers might expect the two actors to have some beef over the role, but it’s been quite the opposite. Snipes even went on as far as to give some advice to Ali about playing the iconic Marvel character.
Since Ali was announced to join the MCU, Wesley Snipes has done nothing but praise the two-time Oscar winner. He’s even lent his support to Mahershala Ali on and off social media. Snipes once again showed his support for the Blade star in a recent Yahoo! interview. Of course, playing Blade comes with some physical demands for the actor. The True Story star offered the Swan Song star some sage advice about keeping fit and safe.
Make sure you're in shape, man. Make sure you're in shape. Try not to get hurt, that's a biggie. The demands of an action movie is you've gotta be an elite athlete. And being well-conditioned to survive and to avoid injury. And enjoy it while it lasts.
Hopefully, Mahershala Ali will take Wesley Snipes’ advice to heart. Having starred in three Blade films, Snipes knows how demanding it is to play the Marvel icon could be. The Coming 2 America star reinforced his support for Ali by stating he was “cool” with Marvel’s decision. He referred to the studio’s decision as a business move. Snipes mentioned having no attachment to the character before congratulating the Oscar winner.
Mahershala Ali may find some relief in Wesley Snipes having in his corner. Ali might have felt the pressure stepping into Snipes’ shoes as he popped up in a surprise cameo in Eternals. The voice cameo marked Ali’s MCU debut. With the ensemble film being his debut, the Oscar winner faced tremendous anxiety surrounding his end-credit moment. Despite his nervousness, incorporating the vampire icon into the MCU has been long overdue.
While Wesley Snipes won’t be involved, the original film’s legacy has been recognized by Marvel. The Blade reboot’s director revealed Marvel is focusing more on the character rather than his relation to other MCU characters. It is currently unknown what genre or comic storyline the film will borrow from.
Right now, not much is known about the reboot other than Mahershala Ali has been joined by The Harder They Fall’s Delroy Lindo. The film is expected to start production in July 2022 with no release date set for the Blade reboot. If you want to see what else is coming in Phase Four, check out our guides to every upcoming Marvel movie and television series.
