Long before the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the first hit film adaptations of a comic book character came when Blade landed in cinemas in 1998.
Wesley Snipes took on the role of vampire hunter Eric Brooks in a movie that found so much success that he went on to film the sequels, Blade II and Blade Trinity.
Fans had been devastated to learn that the actor wouldn’t be reprising the role in the MCU’s upcoming Blade project for Phase 5 of the multiverse saga, with Mahershala Ali lined up instead.
However they were in for a treat when Snipes made a surprise return as the beloved character in Deadpool & Wolverine, which surpassed Joker’s earnings to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie.
In a tweet thanking the actor for his cameo, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds stated: ‘There is no Fox Marvel Universe or MCU without Blade first creating a market. He’s Marvel Daddy.’
Wesley Snipes took on the role of vampire hunter Eric Brooks in the 1998 movie Blade, before reprising the character in the sequels, Blade II and Blade Trinity
Viewers were in for a treat thanks to Snipes’ surprise return as the beloved character in Deadpool & Wolverine
Thanks to the cameo, Snipes has now set two Guinness World Records. The first one was ‘for the record of longest career as a live action Marvel character’ after the actor officially reached the mark of 25 years and 340 days as Blade.
His cameo also set the new record for ‘the longest gap between character appearances in Marvel films,’ with his last appearance being 19 years and 231 days since Blade: Trinity (2004).
Snipes’ return follows years of highs and lows for the cast, including jail sentences and heartbreaking diagnoses.
Here, DailyMail.com takes a look at where the cast of the movie are now…
Wesley Snipes (Blade/Eric Brooks)
Wesley Snipes was already a celebrated film star by the time he took on Blade in 1998, with the role his most famous to date (pictured right in 2022)
Ryan Reynolds brought the actor back to the role after it was revealed that MCU’s upcoming Blade project for Phase 5 would see Mahershala Ali play the part instead
Wesley Snipes was already a celebrated film star by the time he took on the role of Blade in 1998.
Aside from the trilogy, he went on to appear in films such as The Art of War (2000), 7 Seconds (2005) and Brooklyn’s Finest (2009).
During his time in the Blade franchise, he began dating his now-wife, Nakyung ‘Nikki’ Park. The two welcomed their first daughter, Akehnaten Kihwa-T, in 2000.
A second, Iset Jua-T, followed a year later.
They ultimately tied the knot in 2003 and welcomed their third child and first son, Alaafia Jehu-T, in 2004 – the same year that Blade: Trinity hit theaters.
Their fourth and final child, son Alimayu Moa-T, arrived in 2007, just one year before Snipes was charged with tax evasion.
The Coming 2 America actor was accused of failing to pay $15 million worth of taxes in the state of Florida and was found guilty of failing to file tax returns in April 2008.
He was sentenced to three years in prison and attempted to appeal the sentence in July 2010, but to no avail.
Despite issuing another appeal to the Supreme Court in 2011, it was turned down and he ended up serving 28 months.
Since serving 28 months for not paying taxes, Snipes has starred in films like The Expendables 3, Dolemite Is My Name and Coming 2 America (pictured with co-star Teyana Taylor)
While he was in prison, Snipes faced accusations from Patton Oswalt that he attempted to strangle Blade: Trinity director David Goyer.
‘Let me tell you one thing. If I had tried to strangle David Goyer, you probably wouldn’t be talking to me now,’ he told The Guardian of the claims.
‘A Black guy with muscles strangling the director of a movie is going to jail, I guarantee you,’ the actor said, adding that the incident ‘never happened.’
He was released in April 2013 and he was able to return to acting with films like The Expendables 3 and Dolemite Is My Name alongside Eddie Murphy.
Snipes also found a new hobby and tried his hand as a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, DailyMail.com revealed in 2018.
The actor linked up with a new messaging app called NYNJA which utilizes cryptocurrency – and explained that he believed it was the future of movie-making.
Kris Kristofferson (Abraham Whistler)
While Kristofferson made an acting career for himself in films like Blade, he has declared that he is first and foremost a musician (pictured right in 2023)
After being diagnosed with Lyme disease, Kristofferson stepped back from the industry in 2021 (pictured with his wife Lisa in 2013)
Though Kristofferson made an acting career for himself in films like Blade, he has always declared that he is first and foremost a musician.
‘The music is who I am. When I was a little boy I was writing songs, but I started doing them both [acting and performing] and was getting hired in the same week,’ he told FOX411.
Still, he returned for both Blade II and Blade: Trinity, and continued to act in films including Disappearances (2006) and Lords Of The Street (2008).
Even in his films, he made a point to create opportunities to sing like in Bloodworth (2010) in which he plays a country singer.
However, he was forced to slow his career down when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013.
Despite Kristofferson’s memory loss, the veteran performer insisted he was ‘blessed’ and couldn’t be happier with his life.
However, in 2016, he received another blow when test results revealed his Alzheimer’s was in fact Lyme disease.
Within just three weeks of starting treatment, his wife, Lisa, said her husband ‘suddenly came back.’
‘His whole personality came back after three years,’ Lisa told the Huffington Post. ‘We were driving back from his sixth HBOT treatment and he looks over at me and says, “Wow, I feel like I’m back.” And I looked right in his eyes and I said, “OH MY GOD, HE’S BACK! It was like, WHOA!”‘
He has thankfully made a healthy recovery and has gone on to enjoy retirement after he announced he was stepping away from his career in entertainment in 2021.
Sanaa Lathan (Vanessa)
Blade was Lathan’s first lead role in a feature film (left) and it lead to a lasting career in front of, and behind, the camera (pictured right in 2023)
She went on to enjoy celebrated performances in films such as Love & Basketball (pictured with co-star Omar Epps)
Blade was Lathan’s first lead role in a feature film and it paved the way for an extremely successful career which included celebrated performances in films such as Love & Basketball (2000), Alien vs Predator (2004) and Something New (2006).
The actress kept her head down and managed to stay out of drama up until 2018 when all fans could think about was whether or not she bit Beyoncé at a party.
The wild accusation came about after Tiffany Haddish claimed during an interview with GQ in 2018 that an unnamed actress had once bitten the Halo singer.
‘There was this actress there that’s just, like, doing the mostest. She bit Beyoncé in the face,’ Haddish claimed to the magazine. ‘So Beyoncé stormed away, went up to JAY-Z, and was like, “Jay! Come here! This b****” and snatched him.
‘They went to the back of the room. I was like, “What just happened?” And Beyoncé’s friend walked up and was like, “Can you believe this b**** just bit Beyoncé?”‘
Haddish continued: ‘I said to Beyoncé: “Did she really bite you?” She was like: “Yeah.” I was like: “She gonna get her a** beat tonight.”‘
But Haddish claimed Beyoncé said: ‘Tiffany, no. Don’t do that. That b**** is on drugs. She not even drunk. The b**** is on drugs. She not like that all the time. Just chill.’
Fans instantly began to theorize about who chomped Beyoncé, with Lathan’s name bandied about as a potential suspect.
The actress publicly denied she was responsible, tweeting: ‘Y’all are funny. Under no circumstances did I bite Beyoncé and if I did it would’ve been a love bite.’
However, after sources claimed it was The Perfect Guy star, Haddish seemingly backed those accusations by stating that Lathan’s parents approached her after the incident.
The actress kept her head down and managed to stay out of drama up until 2018 when all fans could think about is whether or not she bit Beyoncé at a party (pictured in 2008)
She also appeared on the hit TV series, Succession, as well as the Netflix movie, Nappily Ever After (2018)
‘I’m super good friends with her stepmom and her dad, and they were mad at me,’ Haddish said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
‘They were like, “Why would you do this to the family? You know, black actresses, you guys have to stick together, it’s so hard for you guys to get work as it is, why would you try to ruin her career?”‘
Haddish then explained: ‘But I didn’t try to ruin her career. I never said her name! I was just trying to say how Beyoncé kept me from goin’ to jail that night. I coulda just shut my whole career down.’
Lathan doubled down on denying the Beyoncé bite during an interview with Health Magazine.
‘I think it’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever been involved with,’ Lathan said. ‘Thank God I’ve been in this business for 20 years and have had so many rumors about me. They used to devastate me in my 20s, but in order to survive in this business, you just have to let it roll.’
The actress continued: ‘I adore Beyoncé. I would never do anything malicious like that—to her, or to anyone. It’s so bizarre. I thought it was the funniest thing ever that it was a news story. It’s so crazy.’
In regards to Beyoncé’s alleged theory that the actress was on drugs, Lathan had made the decision to go sober that same year.
‘I stopped drinking about three years ago,’ she told People in 2021. ‘Alcohol was not going well with me physically. Just, it was not working anymore.’
The actress managed to move past the controversy and was revered for her moving performance in the Netflix film, Nappily Ever After (2018).
She also appeared on the hit TV series, Succession, and voiced Catwoman in HBO’s Harley Quinn animated series, while she also stepped into directing with the film On the Come Up (2022).
Stephen Dorff (Deacon Frost)
Dorff’s portrayal of the villain Deacon Frost in Blade propelled him towards a successful career in Hollywood
The actor recently starred in season three of The Righteous Gemstone alongside John Goodman
Dorff’s portrayal of the villain Deacon Frost in Blade is his most notable role to date and propelled him towards a successful career in Hollywood.
In 2003, he appeared alongside A-listers Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone in Cold Creek Manor.
He also went on to star in World Trade Center (2006), Felon (2008), Somewhere (2010) and Immortals (2011).
As he gained more of a name for himself, he started dating some high-profile stars.
In 2012, he was rumored to have been with The Hills star Lauren Conrad.
The two were even spotted getting flirty at her birthday party that year.
However, he seemed to have quickly moved on to Danish model Katharina Damm, whom he dated from 2012 to 2014.
The two were spotted sharing a kiss in Sydney on New Year’s Eve in 2014.
He then dated model Charlotte McKinney. The two had been spotted on dates throughout the course of their relationship in 2015 and 2016.
However, McKinney decided to break it off in 2016 – reportedly due to his infidelity.
While his luck with the ladies seemingly ran out, he was also hit with a lawsuit in 2017.
According to TMZ, City National Bank filed legal documents to recover $805,953.23 from the actor.
The bank claimed the 43-year-old and his production company took out the loan and maxed it out.
This may have been what motivated him to list his Malibu mansion for $8.5 million earlier that year.
At the time of writing, there have been no further reported updates about the situation.
He continued to act in spite of his financial woes, starring in Old Henry (2021) and Mob Land (2023).
