Wesley Snipes Managed to Beat Hugh Jackman’s Major Record, But Plenty of Fans Agree that It Doesn’t Really Count

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is the latest MCU entry, marking the X-Men’s debut in the franchise and featuring the return of Deadpool and Wolverine. Fans were thrilled when it was announced that Hugh Jackman would reprise his role as Wolverine, despite his official retirement after the character’s death in Logan.

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Wade jokes that Jackman might continue in the role until he’s 90, as a suitable replacement hasn’t been found yet. Having played Wolverine for 24 years, starting with X-Men in 2000, Jackman is widely regarded as having the longest-running career as a live-action Marvel character.

That’s not entirely accurate, thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine. An astonishing cameo in the film surprised fans when Wesley Snipes returned to his iconic role as Blade, the most famous vampire hunter in fiction. Snipes now holds the record for the longest career as a live-action Marvel character, with a 25-year and 340-day span since the release of the first Blade movie in 1998.

His surprise appearance also set a record for the longest gap between Marvel film appearances, with a 19-year and 231-day interval since his last turn as Blade in Blade: Trinity (2004). This surpasses Alfred Molina’s previous record of 17 years between portraying Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

Because of this long gap, many fans argue that Snipes’ “tenure” as Blade doesn’t fully count, given that Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine more frequently.

The MCU does have future plans for Blade, but it’s uncertain if Snipes will be part of them, especially since Mahershala Ali has already taken over the role. Snipes recently disclosed that previous attempts to revive the character were unsuccessful until his cameo 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, ‘Okay, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about.” He told me the idea… They said ‘yes’ and ‘it’s a go.’ ‘If you’re in, we’re in.’ Here we are.

Do you think Snipes deserves the record? Share your thoughts in the comments below!