Wesley Snipes appears to have some friction with Ryan Reynolds… or at least that’s the impression they want to give.
Snipes is widely recognized for his roles in films such as White Men Can’t Jump, Money Train, Coming 2 America, and most notably, the Blade series.
He first portrayed the Marvel superhero and half-vampire slayer in 1998.
Ryan Reynolds joined the Blade ensemble as Hannibal King in the third installment, Blade: Trinity.
Recently, Snipes and Reynolds have teamed up again on the silver screen, with Snipes reprising his role as Blade for Deadpool & Wolverine.
This opportunity arose after a straightforward message from Reynolds.
“It started with a text from Ryan Reynolds,” Snipes shared with Entertainment Weekly. “I saw a text and he says ‘I want to talk to you.'”
Addressing their rumored feud, Snipes joked: “I was like, I hate this guy.”
He quickly clarified that he was only joking.
“We’ve been playing this for like two decades,” Snipes explained. “We’ve actually liked each other the whole time.”
Following the initial text, Reynolds expressed his desire for Snipes to reprise his role as Blade for Deadpool & Wolverine, although Snipes was initially skeptical.
The actor said: “I didn’t think we would be able to pull it off. I didn’t think that Marvel was into it, Disney was into it – also because they had Mahershala [Ali] cast for the next upcoming version of it.”
Back in 2019, at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced a reboot of the beloved franchise, with Oscar-winner Ali stepping into the role of the vampire hunter. However, the project has experienced several delays since then.
Providing an update in December 2023, Green Book actor Ali mentioned: “We’re working on it. That’s the best I could tell you.”
“I’m really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we’ll be back at it relatively soon,” he added.
While Snipes isn’t involved in the Blade reboot, he has expressed his support for Ali taking over the iconic character.
“I don’t have any involvement, but I support the young artists and I support Marvel in their business decisions,” Snipes told Uproxx in 2021.
Speaking about Ali, Snipes added: “It’s a beautiful thing. I think he’s a heck of a job. He’s got a heck of a job on his hands.”