In the autumn of 2003, a motley crew of the nearly famous and the famously kooky assembled in Vancouver to shoot a comic book film. One was an erratic leading man on his last legs as a movie star. Two were pleasingly dull twentysomethings who'd been anointed Hollywood's next big things. Another was an actor in the midst of a near-fatal personal crisis. Also milling around Canada after dark were a WWE wrestler, an ageing country-and-western legend, and the coolest indie-movie actor of the Nineties, who'd prepared for the film by running errands in New York wearing vampire fangs.
This unlikely ensemble - Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Natasha Lyonne, Triple H, Kris Kristofferson and Parker Posey, respectively - were making Blade: Trinity, a doomed franchise-capper that would unexpectedly serve as the blueprint not only for the worst impulses of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but of Reynolds's future career.
That anyone is even thinking about Blade: Trinity this week is because a new film gestures right back at it: of the many top-secret cameos in Marvel's Deadpool & Wolverine, it's Snipes's return as Blade that is the most surprising. He joins a number of other faces from Ye Olde Marvel to appear, all of whom are asked to grapple with their aborted franchises and/or general unpopularity in fan circles.
Denne historien er fra July 28, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra July 28, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Hull discovers the highs and lows of Test matches
England 325, Sri Lanka 211-5, visitors are 114 runs behind
Ron Yeats, Anfield legend and 'colossus', dies at 86
Ron Yeats, the defensive “colossus” who captained Liverpool when they emerged as an English football powerhouse in the 1960s, has died at the age of 86.
Winning start for Carsley as Rice and Grealish deliver
After all the focus on the soundtrack, Lee Carsley’s first game as England manager was certainly loaded with narrative.
Thousands take to streets over Barnier appointment
French left says move by Emmanuel Macron a 'power grab'
Calls for probe into killing of US-Turkish volunteer
Israeli forces shot dead Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in West Bank
Iran has supplied ballistic missiles to Russia, says US
The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Poking the bear: Ukraine's attack on Russia could sink
The daring invasion of Kursk began as an unlikely triumph but keeping a firm grip on occupied land is much tougher
The headless body murder haunting police 50 years on
In 1974, the body of an unidentified woman was found on farmland in Norfolk. Despite efforts to solve the case, the killer was never found. Barney Davis hears the theories
National Trust may go half vegan for net zero boost
The National Trust is considering making half of its cafe food vegan as part of a commitment to achieving net zero emissions.
McKellen took knighthood through lack of 'principle'
Sir Ian McKellen has explained why he accepted a knighthood after considering turning down the offer.
