Ryan Reynolds' First Major Action Role Was In A Disappointing Marvel Sequel
When you think about it, it's kind of funny that Ryan Reynolds had already been a Marvel superhero long before his first scene in the maligned spinoff "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" — in which he played a horrendous Deadpool (aka Wade Wilson) by the way — was shot. He's become a much better Deadpool since then, as we know, but his first superhero and major action role came in another Marvel flick that barely anybody remembers — or if they do, they wish they didn't. That would be director David S. Goyer's "Blade: Trinity," the 2004 misfire sequel and trilogy-closer where Reynolds played vampire-turned-Nightstalker Hannibal King.
The reason most fans want to forget that movie wasn't really Reynolds' fault, though. He played Hannibal much in the same vein as he did Deadpool (or Captain Excellent in the underrated "Paper Man," for that matter): cocky, quick-witted, and amusingly offensive. But the production of "Blade: Trinity" was so disastrous and its result so underwhelming that he never really stood a chance to become memorable.
Arguably, Wesley Snipes' creative unhappiness and prickly on-set behavior killed the movie. But even before the star decided to only show up during the shooting of close-ups, communicate with his director through post-it notes, and use his stand-in for every scene that required much physical effort, "Blade: Trinity" was already cursed with a derivative and unimaginative story.
By the third entry, Blade simply lost its bite
Coming off two great films that were as much R-rated, suspenseful horrors as competent comic book adaptations, "Blade: Trinity" had a lot to live up to. Those expectations must've weighed heavily on David S. Goyer, who penned the earlier installments and now occupied the director's chair. The third entry somewhat sidelined its titular character (much to Snipes' chagrin, contributing to his behind-the-scenes issues) and focused more on the Nightstalkers, led by Jessica Biel's Abigail Whistler and Ryan Reynolds' Hannibal King. Naturally, Blade ultimately joins up with them to continue the fight against the bloodsuckers who've recruited the OG Dracula (Dominic Purcell) to help them get rid of their weaknesses like fatal allergies to silver and sunlight.
"Blade: Trinity" was far from unwatchable, and the addition of Biel and Reynolds wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but compared to what the previous films managed to establish within this universe, it felt like a severe step down in quality. The third film was palpably a style-over-substance exercise that barely offered anything fresh or had any conceivable idea on how to improve upon the formula that worked so well the first two times around. Critics hated it, yet the trilogy-closer brought enough moviegoers to theaters to become a decent box office success. On a $65 million budget (the biggest in the history of the franchise), "Blade: Trinity" made over $131 million worldwide.
If nothing else, the experience of making his superhero and major action role debut was certainly useful for Reynolds in helping him shape his future endeavors in Marvel movies — even if it took a few tries until he finally nailed one that went on to have earth-shattering success.