Wesley Snipes Tried To Make A 'Black Panther' Film In The '90s
Although Marvel's Black Panther is still a few weeks away, the film is already breaking records.
The Ryan Coogler-directed superhero film was the best-selling Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in the first 24 hours of its pre-sale and will reportedly rake in between $100-$200 million during its opening weekend.
On its first screening, the film had already received stellar reviews from entertainment writers and editors who described the film as "kinetic" and "incredible."
As the film will officially hit theaters on Feb. 16, fans might be surprised to know that the highly anticipated film was reportedly in the works in the 1990s.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actor Wesley Snipes revealed that he was in the process of creating the film in the '90s.
"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," Snipes told the Hollywood Reporter.
Snipes Still Supports Black Panther
Before he went on to partner with Marvel to make Blade, the first Marvel property film, he was approached with the idea of a Black Panther movie.
The film went through three different scripts and several directors, but unfortunately never came to fruition. The Blade: Trinity actor was also set to star in the film and it would have been directed by Mario Van Peebles and John Singleton.
Of course, the film had the potential, but comic books -- and movies based on them -- didn't have the same kind of cultural accumulation and relevance that they do today.
However, Snipes yearned to show its beauty and felt that it was something that neither the black nor white community had seen before.
"Black Panther is an iconic character who much of the world was unfamiliar with and the communities that I grew up in would love," Snipes stated.
According to Marvel's former Editor-In-Chief, Marvel was struggling at the time as their major competitor was owned by Warner Bros. As Warner was in the process of releasing Superman and Batman movies, Marvel's films were eluding.
As for Snipes, Blade managed to put the actor on an international scale and also helped put Marvel films back on track. Blade became a catalyst to the company's resurgence and the empire everyone sees now.
Although the author will not make an appearance in the new Black Panther film, he completely supports the actors and believes that this is the success of the Marvel films.
He further explained that he completely supports the film and thinks it will open door for other opportunities.
