Blade star Wesley Snipes has given some advice to his Marvel Cinematic Universe successor Mahershala Ali. Snipes, who played the vampire hunter in the earliest days of the action movie subgenre, has been extremely supportive of Ali and recently told Yahoo Movies! he was totally fine with the recasting.
“I’m cool with it,” he told Kevin Polowy. “I don’t walk around as Blade, so I’m not attached to the character. I feel no emotional loss. Zero. I’m happy that’s [Ali’s] being cast.” Snipes also had a few words of wisdom for his successor, warning him that wielding Blade’s razor-sharp katana comes with some provisos – and no, he doesn’t have to prowl graveyards looking for the living dead it’s a bit more prosaic than that.
“Make sure you’re in shape, man. Make sure you’re in shape. Try not to get hurt. That’s a biggie,” he said. “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.”
Ali recently made his MCU debut during Eternal’s post-credit scene. Well, sort of. The scene in question shows Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) grappling with picking up his family’s ancestral weapon, the Ebony Blade. As he goes to pick it up, a disembodied voice asks if he’s ready to wield it.
Wesley Snipes says he's talked to new Blade star Mahershala Ali, assures us he's not the least bit bitter over new casting.
"I'm cool with it. I don't walk around as Blade, so I'm not attached to the character… I feel no emotional loss. ZERO. I'm happy that's he's being cast." pic.twitter.com/B0xYmFa6NK
— Kevin Polowy (@djkevlar) November 18, 2021
Marvel had to explain to people after Eternals premiered that it was actually Blade, although a few people with keen ears knew exactly who it was.
Eternals is part of Marvel’s Phase 4 and is in theatres now. If you enjoy the darker side of fiction, then check out our list of the best monster movies.