There’s One ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Cameo You Didn’t See Coming

[Deadpool & Wolverine spoilers follow]

While Marvel is largely known for their exploits post-Iron Man‘s (2008) release, their catalog that precedes the Robert Downey Jr. flick is equally iconic, if not as commercially successful.

One of these iconic film series is the Blade trilogy, which began with Blade (1998) starring Wesley Snipes in the lead role as Eric Brooks, a.k.a. Blade, the vampire hunter. Revered as one of the most prominent roles of Snipes’ career, the trilogy has garnered a cult following over time and is often brought up in discussions amongst fans of comic book-based movies as a launch point for what would eventually become the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Snipes makes an appearance in the latest Marvel film Deadpool & Wolverine as the legendary character as a part of the resistance team based in the Void’s borderlands. The resistance is set up to thwart Cassandra Nova’s (Emma Corrin) plans and is made up of Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Blade, Gambit (Channing Tatum), and X-23 (Dafne Keen). The group hilariously gets named the “Others” by Deadpool, who along with Wolverine joins hands with them, after which the posse goes to confront Nova.

Snipes’ inclusion in the film can be explained by the fact that the creative team behind Deadpool & Wolverine wanted to pay homage to the X-Men films and other Marvel media associated with Fox Studios, which came out before the 2019 Disney-Fox merger. Blade is not the only surprise cameo, as multiple characters from the OG X-Men trilogy, the prequels, and the original Fantastic Four movies can be seen in the Shawn Levy movie at different points: Sabretooth, Juggernaut, Azazel, Psylocke, Lady Deathstrike, and Toad, among others.

Blade certainly has one of the coolest scenes in the film, repeating his iconic lines from the trilogy and retaining the same look he had in those movies, with the sunglasses never coming off. He also makes a fourth-wall quip at the upcoming Blade flick starring Mahershala Ali, which appears to be in development hell.

The Blade trilogy is often credited with paving the way for further comic book adaptations, with Sam Raimi’s trio of Spider-Man films being a notable example.