Ryan Reynolds’ initial experiences with superhero flicks were far from surreal. Though he made it into the spotlight with a Marvel character – Deadpool (2016), his first Marvel film had almost turned into a nightmare, but not for him!
Blade: Trinity (2004) had Reynolds play Hannibal King alongside Wesley Snipes’ Blade. Reynolds, however, wasn’t in the clash that happened between Snipes and the director – David S. Goyer (known for Man of Steel’s screenplay).
Matters, according to AV Club, got incredibly heated while shooting the film as Goyer had to reach out to a biker group to protect him from Snipes’ alleged rage.
Goyer told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2021 interview that the actors who worked in the film were not amused by Snipes’ actions and that it was a “tortured production.”
Ryan Reynolds’ Blade: Trinity Was Nearly Sabotaged
David S. Goyer opened up on the matter 17 years after the film’s release, but a close friend of his – Patton Oswalt, told AV Club in 2012 that Goyer was frightened by Wesley Snipes’ behavior.
The dynamic between Snipes and Goyer went downhill when they sat down and discussed the issues that were going on; it led to the former freaking out even more.
Oswald said,
“Wesley sat down with David and was like, ‘I think you need to quit. You’re detrimental to this movie.’ And David was like, ‘Why don’t you quit? We’ve got all your close-ups, and we could shoot the rest with your stand-in.’ And that freaked Wesley out so much that, for the rest of the production, he would only communicate with the director through Post-it notes.”
Snipes, as Oswalt said, tried to strangulate Goyer while they were filming. This led the director to approach a couple of bikers for some much-needed muscle power.
David S. Goyer Got Bikers To Level The Playfield
Patton Oswalt went into detail about the incident and said, Goyer needed to have a counter for Snipes as he intimidated him. On the other hand, the director of Ryan Reynolds’ action flick, said that he’s had immense respect for Snipes.
Goyer said,
“Let’s just say I have tremendous respect for Wesley as an actor. He used to be a friend. We’re not friends anymore.”
Oswald and Goyer, however, went to a strip club and hired some biker group for protection.
“We went out that night to some strip club, and we were all drinking. And there were a bunch of bikers there, so David said to them, ‘I’ll pay for all your drinks if you show up to set tomorrow and pretend to be my security.”
Snipes told The Guardian in 2020 that he would be in jail if he had really done what Oswalt said. “Did I go to jail for strangling him? Never happened,” he quoted.
Blade: Trinity starred Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Patton Oswalt, and Triple H in supporting roles.
Ryan Reynolds will next be seen in Deadpool 3. The release date is unknown.
Source: AV Club, The Hollywood Reporter
