Wesley Snipes, the actor from Marvel who unexpectedly appeared in Deadpool and Wolverine as Blade, holds two Guinness World Records. The actor, who returned 25 years and 340 days after his original portrayal in 1998’s Blade, now owns the record for the longest tenure as a live-action Marvel character, according to Guinness World Records. This indicates that Snipes has eclipsed Hugh Jackman, who made his Wolverine debut in the X-Men film series in 2000, 24 years ago.
Furthermore, after taking a 19-year and 231-day break from playing Blade since 2004’s Blade: Trinity, Snipes now holds the record for the longest time between a character’s appearances in Marvel films. This surpasses the 17-year gap between Alfred Molina’s portrayal of Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
Among the numerous superhero cameos that astonished spectators during Deadpool and Wolverine’s debut in the MCU was Blade. Alongside Elektra (Jennifer Garner, reprising her part from the 2003 and 2005 films), X-23 (Dafne Keen, playing her role from Logan), and Gambit (Channing Tatum, completing his desire after his unrealized project), Blade linked up with the lead characters in the movie. The news that Chris Evans would be reprising his role as Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four movies rather than Captain America delighted fans as well.
Deadpool and Wolverine, which was released on July 26, has already shattered multiple box office records. With a $211 million opening weekend gross in North American theaters, the movie had the sixth-highest opening weekend ever. It shattered the $132 million opening weekend record for R-rated movies held by the first Deadpool. Shawn Levy, the film’s director, has surpassed Disney’s Inside Out 2 to become the highest-grossing movie of 2024 thus far.
Marvel Studios has been having trouble releasing its Blade resurrection movie, which stars Mahershala Ali. The movie, which is centered around a half-vampire character, has experienced numerous delays as a result of “development hell.” During his brief cameo in Deadpool and Wolverine, Snipes’ Blade notably and amusingly addressed the delays, announcing that he will always be Blade.
