Thanks to an appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, a new actor holds the record for the longest career as a live-action Marvel character. Hint: It’s not Hugh Jackman.
As per Guinness World Records, Blade actor Wesley Snipes now owns the record for the longest live-action Marvel career at 25 years and 340 days. Snipes’ first appearance as Blade in 1998 beats Jackman’s arrival as Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men.
The Blade actor also owns the record for the longest gap between character appearances in Marvel films. Snipes’ last appearance as Blade came 19 years and 231 days ago in 2004’s Blade: Trinity. Snipes passed Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octavius, who appeared in 2004’s Spider-Man 2 and 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Snipes had no plans to resurrect his Blade character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, Snipes received a text from Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds, setting off a journey that would result in Blade’s inclusion in Deadpool & Wolverine.
“I thought it didn’t make sense to me, but [when] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, ‘OK, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about,'” Snipes told EW. “He told me the idea … They said ‘yes’ and ‘it’s a go. If you’re in, we’re in.’ Here we are.”
Blade was not the only surprise appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine. In The Void, Reynolds’ Deadpool and Jackman’s Wolverine cross paths with several superheroes from the Fox universe, including Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23, Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios, and Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau/Gambit.
As for Blade’s future, Mahershala Ali will play the character going forward in the MCU. After numerous delays, Blade is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 7, 2025.
