Wesley Snipes’ Blade needs some movie redemption, which can take inspiration from Andrew Garfield’s acclaimed return in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The ’90s was a strange time for comic book movies, where outside of the success of the Batman sequels or The Mask, many adaptations failed to hook audiences. Blade turned that around, with the 1998 action horror casting Wesley Snipes as the titular character. Blade’s mix of Hong Kong-style action, slick visuals, world-building, and Snipes’ star turn made it an unlikely hit.

Blade’s success always proved the box-office viability of comic book movies, and soon, the success of 2000’s X-Men and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man gave the genre a second wind. As for Blade, Snipes followed the film up with the equally well-received Blade II – which almost featured Morbius as the main villain. Sadly, it’s well documented what a mess Blade: Trinity – where Snipes had CGI eyes for one shot – became. Script rewrites and creative clashes between Snipes and director David Goyer ended the movie franchise on a sour note, and while 2006’s Blade TV series – which recast the titular hunter with Kirk Jones – attempted to keep the franchise alive, it was short-lived.

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Mahershala Ali has since inherited the role of the MCU’s Blade, having made a brief appearance in Eternals and he will front an upcoming solo movie. Ali is certain to have a fresh take on the character, but Snipes’ Blade will be hard to top. Given how good the first two Blades were – not to mention how their success paved the way for the current dominance of comic book movies – it is a shame Blade: Trinity ended Snipes’ run on such a tepid note. Snipes’ Blade deserves some cinematic redemption, even if the series is seemingly moving on. However, Andrew Garfield’s “surprise” return in Spider-Man: No Way Home shows how such a Blade comeback could be handled.

Just like Blade: Trinity, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was an anticipated comic book movie sequel that ended up being a critical and commercial disappointment. Garfield’s performance as Peter Parker/Spider-Man was never the issue in either of his outings, but the backlash to Amazing Spider-Man 2 saw Sony hit the reset switch and reboot the character within the MCU. Spider-Man: No Way Home brought in both Tobey Maguire and Garfield’s Spider-Men from alternate universes and not only was Garfield’s return delightful and emotional in equal measure, but it also helped give audiences – and the actor – closure after his run ended abruptly.

Spider-Man: No Way Home helped set up the multiverse side of the MCU too, and while Ali’s upcoming MCU Blade movie should make him the sole focus, NWH also gives a roadmap for a Snipes return. The original Blade is a key landmark in the evolution of the comic book movie genre and remains one of Snipes’ most beloved roles. He and the character deserve a better resolution than the lackluster Trinity, and a multiverse crossover between him and Ali’s Blade would give a future sequel a great hook. Whether that’s likely to happen is another question entirely, but if the reception to Garfield’s Spider-Man comeback – and talk of a possible Amazing Spider-Man 3 – proves anything, it’s that audiences love a good redemption story.

Key Release Dates
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  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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About The Author


Padraig Cotter
(3486 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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