As much as I loved Wesley Snipes and what he did for Blade. He made me a fan, and none of the comic versions I've read since-the Guggenheim series or the MI:13 Blade have been as cool. That being said, I think Blade has to be bigger than one actor.
Just like Batman is bigger than one actor or Superman is bigger than one actor, Blade has to be considered the same way. The potential has only just been realized with Snipes, so I think many of us get hung up on that. Whereas we've seen George Reeves and Christopher Reeve both do their thing as Superman and also Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and even Kilmer and Clooney as Batman.
Marvel has done a horrible job with the character over the years, but I hope we get a revival. I would love to see Wesley back, but if that's not possible, it wouldn't be a deal breaker with me.
In fact, I think a new/rebooted Blade should go in a different direction anyway. The Snipes-Goyer films were very stylistic and unique to their time period (late 90s/early 20s). I still would find it hard to be believe that a big black man, rocking a box cut and armed to the teeth in black leather wouldn't arouse suspicion walking down the street. I would like a change in style and not the tight leather or S-Curl from the Guggenheim series or the lightning streaks hair design from MI: 13.
The focus should be more on what makes Blade tick than what he's wearing. Go back and develop his relationships with people, whether they are twisted or not. And let him have sex for goodness sakes. I'm glad at least MI:13 either did this or were headed in that direction with Blade and Spitfire.
To be fair, I think the Guggenheim series did try to alter the character. It seemed to give him an expanded, though vague, history, far back into the past than the movies. It also gave him a white Latverian father. I was intrigued with an ancient Blade but didn't care for the white father thing. Even though I sort of liked Cross as a character. Also, they replaced Blade's hand with a wooden stake. I didn't care for that as well.
On the TV series, Goyer also tried to alter the character, but I think most of this did a disservice to Blade. Blade was depowered IMO, less intelligent (he once told Shen that he was the was the 'smart one', not Blade), and took a backseat to new character Krista Starr. I thought Kirk Jones was okay as an actor. He's not as skilled as Snipes, and he's not a trained martial artists, and both of those showed from the pilot. But over time I think he got better in the role. I think Goyer conceived of Blade as being more muscle anyway, more of the silent, brooding type, though Jones-Blade did start to use his brain toward the end of the series, I guess. But Jones' Blade wasn't meant to be the main character. He was just meant to come in occasionally and kick a little ass, or try to, while most of the show was devoted to Krista and Marcus.
Though the vampire cycle currently in vogue is bound to go bust eventually, it makes no sense that comics greatest vampire hunter is sitting on the shelf. Marvel has an upcoming Death of Dracula storyline and it would make sense to have Blade play a big role in that. Here's hoping that with talk of doing reboots that Blade gets another shot.
