Before ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ Wesley Snipes (Sort Of) Played Blade in This FX Comedy

In addition to Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprising their respective titular roles, Deadpool & Wolverine features many other actors returning to past Marvel characters, both from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and outside of it, with several of these performers doing so after hiatuses of a decade or more from their roles. One such Marvel veteran is Wesley Snipes, who reprises his most iconic role as vampire hunter Eric Brooks/Blade, as whom he previously headlined a trilogy of films of his own starting in 1998. But although Deadpool & Wolverine marks the first time Snipes has officially played the character since 2004’s Blade: Trinity (which also starred Reynolds in a different role), he did notably make a highly meta appearance directly referencing Blade in a television comedy outside of the Marvel multiverse. During the first season of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows, Snipes played a fictionalized version of himself that incorporated aspects of Blade’s character.

Wesley Snipes Poked Fun at Blade in ‘What We Do in the Shadows’

Based on the film of the same name, What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary series chronicling the misadventures of a group of comically friendly vampire roommates that live in Staten Island. In Season 1, Episode 7, titled “The Trial,” the three main vampires, Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry), and Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou) are accused by the Vampiric Council of killing Baron Afanas (Doug Jones), the leader of their local contingent. In addition to series creator Jemaine Clement and executive producer and director Taika Waititi, who reprise their respective roles as the New Zealand vampire duo from the film, the Council includes various actors, including Tilda Swinton, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Reubens and Danny Trejo, among others, who have played vampires in other well-known media, as caricatures of themselves who just so happen to also be vampires off-screen. The episode also makes mention of other vampire actors — including Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Robert Pattinson — who are part of the Council but were unable or unwilling to attend.

Snipes, who, like the other Council actors, is referred to by his real first name, joins the proceedings via Skype. Most of the other Council members do not like him and question his inclusion, derisively noting that he is “a Daywalker” and vampire killer, just like Blade, though Swinton ultimately maintains that he should be allowed to participate given that he is half-vampire, with Trejo noting that he’ll only listen to half of his opinion. Snipes’ internet connection is also weak, causing delays in his ability to hear the information presented at trial, which exacerbates tensions between him and the others.

While testifying as a witness, Nandor’s human servant (known as a familiar), Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), admits that he accidentally killed the Baron by exposing him to sunlight. Although Guillermo is telling the truth (as far as he knows, as the Baron is actually revealed to have survived in a later season), the Council doesn’t believe him but plans to kill and feast on him anyway. Nandor then falsely confesses that he, Nadja, and Laszlo killed the Baron to protect Guillermo. The three are sentenced to be killed by sunlight themselves but are rescued by Guillermo and their other roommate, energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), who was included on the Council as a local representative.

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Frequently References the Blade Films

Although the most notable, Snipes’ cameo isn’t the only reference to Blade in the What We Do in the Shadows franchise. In the film, Waititi’s character, Viago, objects to one of his roommates dressing as Blade for Halloween, saying that going as the vampire hunter would be offensive. In the TV show, Nadja is shown to be a particularly passionate fan of the films.

In Season 3, the main group of vampires also encounters Donal Logue, the actor who played Frost’s henchman Quinn in Blade. Like the Council members, Logue plays a fictional version of himself, explaining that he elected to become a vampire after enjoying the lifestyle while shooting the first Blade movie. Nadja is thrilled to meet him, making several references to his role as Quinn. Later, while planning the opening of her own vampire nightclub in Season 4, she insists on having blood sprinklers installed in the ceiling so the patrons can be showered in blood, as the ones attending a vampire rave in Blade’s famous opening sequence are.

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Preceded ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’s Humorous Take on Blade

As brief as it is, Snipes’ What We Do in the Shadows appearance is an important precursor to his full return as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine. His part in the Council sequence showed that Snipes is willing and able to effectively poke fun at both his signature character and to some extent at himself, and Deadpool & Wolverine builds on this by involving Snipes in more self-aware humor. Upon meeting Wade and Logan, Snipes’ Blade quickly tells the former, “I don’t like you,” to which Wade replies, “You never did,” in a direct reference to the infamous tension between Snipes and Reynolds during the production of Blade: Trinity.

Later, after Wade makes one of his fourth-wall-breaking jokes about how many actors have played Marvel antihero the Punisher, Snipes’ Blade remarks that, “There’s only one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade,” after which Wade looks directly at the camera. Marvel fans have interpreted this joke as having multiple meanings. The uniqueness Snipes’ Blade is so sure of isn’t accurate, as rapper Sticky Fingaz played the role in a short-lived live-action television series and Mahershala Ali voiced him in a cameo appearance in the MCU film Eternals, setting up his role in the franchise as another variant of the character. But given the low amount of audience awareness of the series and the continued difficulties in the production of Ali’s reboot film, it seems like Snipes’ version will remain the most prominent iteration of the character for a while yet, if not indefinitely, so his boasting may have been somewhat justified.

The final season of What We Do in the Shadows premieres October 21 on FX.

Blade is available to stream on Prime Video.

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