This is one of those moments in filmmaking where we have to accept the way things are and just move on. Characters being recast in reboots is one of those things that just happens. But when news broke that two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali will be playing the title role in a new Blade movie, the reaction was mixed.

While some have praised the casting, others aren’t so fond of it and consider Wesley Snipes to be their Blade. Now Snipes has made a statement, and has called upon those Blade fans to “chillaaxx.” More on the report below.

It never ceases to amaze me what surprises Marvel Studios can bring to any geeky convention, especially one as large as the San Diego Comic-Con. While we can expect to hear about sequels and confirmations of certain titles, they have been known to catch everyone, and I mean everyone, off guard. Take, for instance, them announcing that Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali will play the title role in Blade.

Marvel Anime: Blade
DVD | Instant Video
Directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara
Written by Warren Ellis
Starring Harold Perrineau, Kim Mai Guest, JB Blanc, Troy Baker
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 31, 2012

Marvel Anime: Blade is the last of the first wave of Marvel DVD releases of anime versions of their characters produced by Japanese animation company Madhouse. These anime series aired in Japan originally, were dubbed in English, aired on G4, and were then collected on DVD and Blu-ray.

Blade is Eric Brooks, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid known as “The Daywalker” because sunlight does not affect him. While Blade’s mom was pregnant with him, she was attacked by the vampire Deacon Frost, resulting in Blade’s unique nature. Blade struggled to control his bloodlust until he met Noah Van Helsing, an old vampire slayer. He taught Blade to control his urges and Blade began training and traveling the world, vowing revenge on Deacon Frost and seeking the destruction of the vampire race.

When the first Blade movie hit theater screens in August of 1998 it became a surprise smash hit and accomplished several noteworthy goals: it gave Wesley Snipes an iconic movie hero in the mold of Rambo and John McClane to call his own, spawned one of New Line Cinema’s most lucrative franchises since the heyday of Freddy Krueger and the Ninja Turtles, and it proved that Marvel Comics characters could successfully headline their own motion picture adventures, thus paving the way for Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers to rule the box office in the years that followed. It took four years for a sequel to come together but with Guillermo Del Toro at the helm, Blade II surpassed the original in every way and became one of the best comic book movie sequels of all. The rapturous reception from moviegoers and critics that greeted Blade II helped revive Del Toro’s American directing career.

Expectations were high for a third Blade movie; at one point German filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) was rumored to take the reins for a post-apocalyptic sequel that would have had Snipes’ monosyllabic vampire hunter continue his neverending battle in a world dominated by the bloodthirsty undead. Instead David S. Goyer, the screenwriter who was instrumental in bringing Blade to the big screen, signed on to write and direct the movie that would be released in December 2004 as Blade: Trinity. The end result has since been deemed by many to be one of the worse comic book movies ever made, if not the absolute worse. Make no mistake friends, if you’ve never seen the movie you’re not missing anything at all. It’s atrocious. In the annals of superhero it ranks with the likes of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Elektra. Blade: Trinity makes other maligned third chapters of comic book movie franchises like X-Men: The Last Stand and Spider-Man 3 look like masterpieces in comparison.

Marvel Anime: Wolverine and Marvel Anime: Blade hit store shelves on DVD this Tuesday, and thanks to the super cool team at Sony Pictures, Geeks of Doom has two of sets of DVDs to give away to a pair of our awesome readers.

Two (2) winners will receive:

• One (1) copy of Marvel Anime: Wolverine – Animated Series DVD
• One (1) copy of Marvel Anime: Blade – Complete Series DVD

TO ENTER: There’s just two simple steps:

(1) Go LIKE Geeks of Doom on Facebook. If you’re not a Facebook user, alternately, you can subscribe to the Geeks of Doom email digest. Click here to sign up.

(2) Fill out the entry form here below and submit. (Form is here after the jump.)

Good luck!