“The project is controlled by Marvel and we did have a really productive and a wonderful meeting and we discussed a number of things,” he teased, “I don’t know where it’s on their schedule at this point, that hasn’t been decided. I guess it’s still up in the air.” He attempted to turn the attention back to his current project, by replying, “I just hope that we don’t have all the questions centered around if I’m going to do ‘Blade 4’ or not.”
Many may not remember this, but ‘Blade’ was the first modern age comic book movie. Inspired by the 1970s ‘Tomb of Dracula’ comic, Snipes crafted a karate kicking, leather-clad badass leading character. ‘Blade’ opened the door for ‘X-Men,’ ‘Spider-Man’ and all of the comic movies that have come since. But, um, that was 17 years ago. Even if you count the last installment, 2004’s ‘Blade: Trinity’, that was still more than a decade ago.
Snipes did recently appear in an action flick. However, it was the latest in the ‘Expendables’ series, appearing in which is basically a confession that an actor is “over the hill.”
Snipes isn’t the only one-time super hero attempting to revisit glory days past. Halle Berry‘s most profitable movies have been the ‘X-Men’ films for Fox and she doesn’t seem done with the franchise just yet.
She recently exclaimed, “Well, I think [Fox] should do it. If the fans want that, the fans need to speak up and I’m sure it would be a possibility. If Fox felt like they could make money off of a Storm movie I’m sure they would do it.”
It’s not known whether or not Berry is aware that her part has been recast with a younger actress, Alexandra Shipp for next year’s ‘X-Men: Apocalypse.’ In fact, most of Berry’s co-stars from the original movies have confirmed that they are not returning, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan and even the franchise’s biggest star Hugh Jackman, who has announced that he is retiring his adamantium claws after his next solo ‘Wolverine’ sequel. Hell, even Jennifer Lawrence, one of the newer “replacement” actors declared that she was done with her role as Mystique after ‘Apocalypse.’
If… IF Fox opted to develop a Storm movie (which they had previously planned with Berry, until ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ bombed), it would most assuredly be with Shipp in the title role.
Not all actors “of a certain age” want to return to a prior role. Perhaps inspired by her son Jaden’s propensity for dressing as Batman in public, Jada Pinkett Smith, most recently seen on Season One of ‘Gotham’ as crime boss Fish Mooney, is lobbying to play DC character Vixen.
While promoting schlong-fest ‘Magic Mike XXL’ starring upcoming super hero Channing Tatum (‘Gambit’),’ Smith stated, “There’s a character that I love in the DC World, her name is Vixen. [You] probably haven’t heard much of her. She’s kind of in that Suicide Squad world as well. I love Vixen. If there was any character, I would love to play her. I’m going to have to put my little word in with the director. ‘Vixen for Suicide Sqaud 2.’”
It certainly can’t hurt that her husband Will Smith is the biggest star in the cast of the first ‘Suicide Squad’ which is still in production with David Ayers helming the project. And honestly, Vixen was a long-running member of the comic book ‘Suicide Squad.’
But there’s a big leap from playing a seductive vamp like Fish Mooney and a physical character like Vixen with animal-like strength and agility. While she’s no Betty White, can the 44 year-old Smith get into the right shape to play such a physically demanding role… in not just one film, but in a possible franchise?
While these actors certainly aren’t OLD, depending on the super hero, these types of roles can be quite physically demanding. Storm would be the least grueling, but Blade and Vixen would necessitate that their actors be in peak shape for demanding stunts and fight scenes.
While it may be an unfair comparison, remember Harrison Ford in ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?’ watching him lumber stiffly through sequences he once would have glided through with ease made MY joints ache. At some point, maybe it’s best to let the kids take over.
And I know what you might be thinking: what about Robert Downey Jr. Well, Tony Stark’s “action scenes” are 90% closeups of his face, lit up by LED lights inside his helmet. Who knows who’s inside the red and gold armor during the really rough scenes? “Iron Man” is probably CGI a lot of the time.
What do you think? Would you like to see Wesley Snipes back in the leather duster, slaying the undead? Does Halle Berry’s Storm still have some wind in her sails? Does Jada Pinkett Smith have the claws to play Vixen? Sound off below!
Source: Newsarama
