In 1998, Wesley Snipes entered the Marvel universe when he took on the role of the anti-hero and vampire hunter, Blade. The film became a big hit worldwide, with Snipes’ aura impressing audiences across the globe. More significantly, the film succeeded at a time when Marvel was just resurrecting itself from a period of financial difficulties.
Having established its supremacy in the comic book realm over decades, the company faced a dark time in the mid-90s that saw it filing for bankruptcy. This almost crushed pioneer Stan Lee’s dreams of bringing these narratives to life on screen. But thanks to films like Blade and the presence of Snipes, the franchise began to find its feet, and went on to become a force to be reckoned with.
How Wesley Snipes Aided Marvel’s Rise From The Ashes
It is impossible to believe that a prolific comic book franchise like Marvel went through a difficult period. After ruling the roost in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the early 90s proved to be an extremely challenging proposition for the company.
As per Slate Films, in 1993, millionaire Ron Perelman purchased the Marvel Entertainment Group. He merged with Isaac Permultter’s Toy Biz for an exclusive deal which saw him get a 46% stake in exchange for the latter getting an exclusive license to manufacture toys based on Marvel characters.
At this juncture, Israeli toy designer Avi Arad was also roped in to replace Stan Lee to create a new look for Marvel films which would bring these superhero narratives to life on the big screen. Despite signing on a lot of ambitious projects, it all started going south for the franchise.
Following a number of bad investments and loyalty shifts, Marvel filed for bankruptcy in 1996 before Arad stepped in to convince investors and bankers about the viability of these Marvel characters becoming icons on the big screen. His persistence worked, and the franchise slowly started finding its feet.
At this point, Marvel had films like X-Men and Blade scheduled to be made, which they were heavily banking on. Blade saw Hollywood star Wesley Snipes playing the titular anti-hero and human with vampire strengths.
The film turned out to a saving grace for Marvel with its box office collection of $70 million, and was a shot in the arm for Arad and team who were heavily relying on its success. Snipes’ aura in the film kickstarted Marvel’s rise from a really challenging financial period, which then saw other films following suit.
Many fans believed that the actor wasn’t given enough credit for this. In an Instagram post about the impact of the Blade films, netizens expressed their opinions on Snipes and the movies being the most underrated champions of the Marvel franchise. One fan wrote,
Marvel was considering bankruptcy. It saved Marvel financially
Another viewer rued the fact that Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man was seen to be Marvel’s savior over Wesley Snipes.
It’s so disappointing how much credit Iron Man gets, and how little credit Blade gets.
This first comment though, isn’t completely accurate considering the fact that the franchise had technically come out of its financial crisis before the film’s release. But there is no doubt that it was Blade and Snipes who started this upward journey for Marvel in the movie world, a fact that is quite often overlooked when talking about the company’s success.
This Cult Marvel Alum Weighed In On His Iconic Return
Fans of the Blade franchise and Wesley Snipes were treated to the most stunning surprise when the actor made a glittering cameo as his cult character in Deadpool and Wolverine. The celebrity who was last seen playing the anti-hero in 2004’s Blade: Trinity, has returned to the franchise after 20 years.
The star spoke exclusively to EW and candidly confessed that he never imagined he would be associated with Marvel again, especially after Mahershala Ali had been cast as Blade for the future. Speaking of his success with the character and bringing the role a full circle over 3 films, he said,
So I kind of resided that I was moving on from them, which is okay. I did three of them, and I thought they turned out pretty good. Not so bad… So we move on to other things, and bigger and better things, as well.
But it was a personal call from Ryan Reynolds that made Snipes seriously look at the possibility of coming back into the Marvel fold. Speaking of his surprise and subsequent acceptance, he stated,
I did not think it was possible. I didn’t think we would be able to pull it off. I didn’t think that Marvel was into it. I thought it didn’t make sense to me, but [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’. He told me the idea… They said ‘yes’ and ‘it’s a go.’ ‘If you’re in, we’re in’. Here we are.
With fans going crazy about the actor’s presence in the film, there leaves no doubt that Snipes is still as cult a figure as he was before.
Blade is streaming on Apple TV.
