Wesley Snipes to return as Blade? Actor says he is 'open to all the possibilities'

Hollywood star Wesley Snipes has fueled fresh speculation that he may reprise his role as vampire hunter, Blade.

The 55-year-old actor, also known for his roles in New Jack City, White Men Can't Jump, Passenger 57, Rising Sun and Demolition Man, told The Hollywood Reporter that he has discussed the possibility of a fourth installment of the superhero franchise ever since the rights to the character reverted back to Marvel Studios in 2012.

In 1998 Snipes made his debut appearance as the Marvel character in Stephen Norrington's 1998 Blade. He returned for Guillermo del Toro's Blade II in 2002 which also enjoyed commercial success and he reprised the role David S. Goyer's 2004's Blade: Trinity.

"I am very much open to all of the possibilities," he told the publication. "If Blade 4 comes along, that is a conversation we can have. There are other characters in the Marvel universe that, if they want to invite me to play around with, I am with that too. I think the fans have a hunger for me to revision the Blade character, so that could limit where they could place me as another character in that universe."

While fans wait to find out the fate of the Daywalker now he is back in the Marvel Universe, Snipes has opened up about his attempt to get make a Black Panther film back in the 90's.

"I think Black Panther spoke to me because he was noble, and he was the antithesis of the stereotypes presented and portrayed about Africans, African history and the great kingdoms of Africa," he explained.

Unfortunately, director uncertainty, budget issues inadequate CG capabilities meant that the ambitious project never go off the ground.

"Ultimately, we couldn't find the right combination of script and director and, also at the time, we were so far ahead of the game in the thinking, the technology wasn't there to do what they had already created in the comic book," Snipes explained.

More than two decades later and the cinema goers will see the fictional African nation of Wakanda brought to life when the film hits cinema's 13 February.

Ryan Coogler's culturally significant blockbuster is the first solo movie for the first black superhero in mainstream American comics. Chadwick Boseman portrayed the character in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, leading up to his first adventure with top billing.