If you watched Eternals, you may have noticed a certain voice in the final post-credits scene. Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t, of course, but that voice who spoke to Dane Whitman was none other than the DayWalker himself, Blade, marking his first official appearance (albeit off screen) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Blade will be played by the amazing Mahershala Ali and he will, by all accounts, kill it in this role. But, many fans remember where it all started. Where the Comic Book Movie craze really planted the seed; Blade, with Wesley Snipes. Now, the OG vampire hunter sings his praise for the new casting.
Snipes has previously already given his blessing to Ali for his chance at the role, but he recently responded to a fan’s tweet that Ali has an uphill battle in front of him trying to live up to Wesley’s portrayal of the character. With just four words, Snipes made his feelings known: He will do great. Simple and to the point, Snipes here really speaks for nearly everyone on this. Mahershala Ali is going to be spectacular in this role and bring the MCU version of Blade to the big screen wonderfully. And Marvel is laying the building blocks for the character throughout the MCU.
Unlike in Snipes’ case when it was just a cold release with nothing to build it up (and he still killed it), Marvel has set Ali up for success. They have named dropped vampires multiple times now in multiple films and shows and have now teased us with more. Add on to that fact that rumors point to Moon Knight having something to do with Blade at some point, and the foundation couldn’t be more solid for Mahershala Ali to come in and hit this out of the park.
https://twitter.com/wesleysnipes/status/1458854832043790336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1458854832043790336%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-59310743177461373.ampproject.net%2F2111060251003%2Fframe.html
Even though there is a lot of nostalgia for the original Blade trilogy, I think fans should listen to Snipes here and understand that Ali will handle this character with care and dignity and do it justice.
Are you on the same boat as Wesley Snipes here? Let us know in the comments below!