“I said absolutely f—king not”: Marvel Almost Didn’t Cast Wesley Snipes in ‘Blade’ to Whitewash Iconic Vampire That Would Have Put Scarlett Johansson’s $169M Movie to Shame

Blade (1998) is the movie that helped to revive the superhero genre. The film was based on superhero comic but also looked like an urban action film with horror twist.

Starring Wesley Snipes, Blade was not only a box office hit but also well received by critics and fans alike.

Snipes did an amazing job by portraying the titular character and it would be hard to think of anyone in place of him.

But here is a scoop. In an interview it was came to light that Snipes’ role was nearly whitewashed.

Also read: “I had never seen something like that”: David Fincher Almost Directed ‘The Blade’ Only to Leave Project for $327M Movie That Became Denzel Washington’s Biggest Regret

David Goyer Revealed Marvel Studios Wanted Blade to be White

In 2018, Entertainment Weekly published an oral history of Blade, which was chock full of interesting anecdotes. But the most shocking revelation came when screenwriter David Goyer disclosed that the studio wanted Blade to be white. Goyar recalled:

“At one point the [studio] came to us and said ‘can Blade be white?’ and I said ‘absolutely f-cking not. Like, that is just terrible. You cannot do that.””

 

While Goyer noted earlier in the oral history that the studio aimed to create “a lower-budget black superhero film,” it’s surprising to see that (the idea of) whitewashing the character even crossed their minds. But it’s unclear whether that idea was seriously considered for the film because eventually, Wesley Snipes played the titular character.

Blade, the iconic superhero, debuted his comic book in 1973’s The Tomb of Dracula #10. To whitewash the character at that time would have been a grave injustice (given the character’s established identity).

Also read: “Predisposed to believing the black guy is always the problem”: Wesley Snipes Accused Marvel Star of Racism for Claiming He Tried to Strangle Blade Director

Blade Would Have Put Ghost in the Shell to Shame

Ghost in the Shell faced controversy when Scarlett Johansson was cast as Motoko Kusanagi (a Japanese character in the original manga series). This decision was criticized for whitewashing, as it overlooked the cast of an Asian actress in the lead role.

While Blade did not face the same level of controversy regarding whitewashing because the character of Blade was (later) played by Wesley Snipes. It followed the same black character that has been in the comic book source material.

But as revealed by the screenwriter, if the main character was whitewashed in the film, then it may have put ScarJo’s movie to shame. It’s because then Blade would have ultimately been tagged as a whitewashed character forever.

Also read: “It’s a tragedy he is not acting as much”: ‘Blade Trinity’ Director Felt Sorry For Wesley Snipes Who Was Dealing With Immense Pain During His Controversial Blade Movie

Source: Entertainment Weekly