Throughout April, we’re counting down to the release of Marvel’s Iron Man 3 with our picks for the Greatest Comic Book Movies of All Time; here’s #23…
Blade, 1998.
Directed by Stephen Norrington.
Starring Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Arly Jover and Traci Lords.
While Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000) is generally credited with kick-starting the current superhero movie boom, it was actually Marvel’s Blade who got in there first, with the Daywalker arriving on the screen two years earlier – and just one year after the disastrous Batman & Robin – thanks to director Stephen Norrington, screenwriter David S. Goyer and star Wesley Snipes.
After the success of Blade, Wesley Snipes returned for the sequels Blade II and Blade: Trinity, but turned down the opportunity to headline the subsequent small screen spin-off Blade: The Series due to an ongoing lawsuit with New Line Cinema, with Kirk ‘Sticky Fingaz’ Jones then stepping in to the role. Although Snipes has since expressed his desire to portray the character in a fourth Blade movie, the rights have since reverted back to Marvel Studios, and at this point their plans for the Daywalker remain unclear.
Blade marks the second entry on our list for the character created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan in 1973, with the Guillermo del Toro-directed Blade II (which was also written by Goyer) occupying position #39. It’s also a second appearance for director Stephen Norrington, with his 2003 adaptation of Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen coming in at #49.
Keep up to date with our entire countdown here.
Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen – Available now via Amazon.co.uk
Originally published April 3, 2013. Updated November 7, 2019.
