Blade Returns to HBO Max This Week

Wesley Snipes’ Blade is returning to HBO Max later this week. Beginning Friday, January 1st, Blade will return to the WarnerMedia-owned service, where it will remain throughout the month of January. The cult classic previously lived on the platform earlier this year upon launch, before a brief hiatus after the entire Blade trilogy as added to Hulu in October. The film will remain on HBO Max for just a few weeks, before being removed on January 31st due to prior licensing agreements.

After Snipes appeared as the Daywalker in three films, the character was recast for a series on Spike. Now, some 14 years after the fact, Marvel Studios is rebooting the franchise with Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali in the lead role. Even with the recasting, Snipes seems perfectly at peace with Marvel continuing with the character’s legacy.

“To all the DAYWALKERS losing their minds right now, chillaaxx. Although the news comes as a surprise, it’s ALL GOOD. Such is the ‘business’ of ‘entertainment!’ Much peace to the MCU crew – always a fan,” Snipes said in a statement provided to ComicBook.com after Ali’s casting became public knowledge. “Honor and respect to the grandmaster Stan. Congratulations and Salaam to Mahershala Ali, a beautiful and talented artist whose expressions I look forward to experiencing for many years to come. Inshallah, we will someday work together. Most importantly to my loyal fans, the incredible outpouring of love is overwhelming. I am grateful for the never-ending support. So, ‘nah fret nah worry, it’s not de end of de story.’ Welcome to the Daywalker Klique.”

Though plot details remain scarce, Ali has spoken to his involvement in brief, saying he’s glad Marvel’s willing to explore some darker territory involved with the character.

“I did this Marvel show for Netflix called Luke Cage. So in doing that show, the day it premiered, I had turned to my agent, and I had said, ‘What are they doing with Blade?’ Because I kept hearing they were trying to find a way to remake and put it back together,” he previously told The Tight Rope. “And it was exciting for me to get to be in that Marvel space and TV, but for me, my goal had always been film. But also being able to participate in television in a very specific way that had real meaning, but my larger goal was to be able to really navigate between film and television.”

What characters do you hope to see in the Marvel Studios reboot of Blade? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!