Trivia / Blade: Trinity

• B-Team Sequel:
  • Stephen Norrington had at one point considered returning to direct this film. He changed his mind after reading the script, which he didn't like.
  • Guillermo del Toro was supposed to return as director, but he was busy with Hellboy (2004).
• California Doubling: The movie was very obviously filmed in Vancouver, to the extent of not changing signage, using major and distinctive features, etc.
• Celebrity Voice Actor: In order to keep the reference of Jarko Grimwood being played by a wrestler, the Japanese dub does the same by having the legendary wrestler Masahiro Chono voicing him, through only in the home video release. The TV Tokyo dub used a professional voice actor instead.
• Creator Backlash: Wesley Snipes hated the film from day one. Kris Kristofferson didn't like it either. They felt that too many new characters were added to the universe, and that Blade did not need any sidekicks besides Whistler.
• Deleted Scene: In an alternate ending, Hannibal and Abigail encounter a werewolf.
• DVD Commentary: By Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Ryan Reynolds gained 25 pounds of muscle for his role as Hannibal King.
• Franchise Killer: Indirect. Trinity was critically panned and failed to meet New Line's financial expectations, resulting in New Line shelving the series. The situation compounded when Wesley Snipes sued New Line for Executive Meddling, which was against his contract. In the meantime, New Line created Blade: The Series in an effort to carry on without him, but it only lasted twelve episodes and got an even worse reception than this film. Then, Snipes was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to three years in prison, ultimately ensuring that New Line would not be able to produce a fourth film on time before the rights expired. Marvel confirmed this in 2011 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and eventually announced a new Blade movie at SDCC 2019.
• Hostility on the Set: Wesley Snipes really didn't like the script or writer David S. Goyer being the director, and proceeded to refuse to interact with Goyer or any of his co-stars personally (using either assistants or notes which he signed as "Blade"), refusing to film several scenes, getting high on marijuana, and accusing Goyer of racism while during the shoot calling Ryan Reynolds "cracker". He annoyed Parker Posey so much that she slipped in a Take That! which ended up on the Gag Reel, and Ryan Reynolds' line "He hates me, does he?" was actually a Throw It In! in regards to Snipes.
• No Stunt Double: Dominic Purcell did all of his stunts in the sword fight sequence against Blade.
• Playing Against Type: Parker Posey, best known for playing sharp-tongued eccentrics in comedy and indie films, here plays an evil, super-powerful vampiress.
• Recycled Set: The sets used as the vampire's high-rise lair are from Stargate Atlantis.
• Refitted for Sequel:
  • The scene where vampires keep humans in giant blood bags to feed on was an idea meant for the first film, while the opening car chase was meant to open the second film.
  • The chase scene appeared in an early version of Blade II.
• Star-Derailing Role: Wesley Snipes' career was beginning to cool by the late '90s and early 2000s with the exception of the first two Blade films, which were box office successes. By the time this movie came out, it received a negative reaction from both critics and fans alike, leading to a disappointing total. It also doesn't help that Snipes filed a lawsuit against New Line Cinema and David S. Goyer, claiming that they cut him out of casting decisions and filmmaking processes. After the film's failure, Snipes appeared in a string of straight-to-DVD releases and didn't make another theatrical appearance for six years (with the film Brooklyn's Finest). He also went to federal prison for tax evasion, putting the franchise on hold. Now that he's been released, he's started to mount a comeback with an appearance in The Expendables 3, and there were talks of doing a fourth Blade film (at Disney; long story), although Disney eventually opted to outright do a reboot with Mahershala Ali.
• Stunt Double: According to an unpublished story for SPIN Magazine that was released online in 2009, nearly every scene of Wesley Snipes is his stunt double. Snipes was allegedly unhappy with the director and script, so he only fulfilled the bare minimum his contract required and was only on set to shoot close-ups and dialogue scenes. None of the cast or crew have verified the story, however, so take it with a grain of salt. Patton Oswalt spoke of these same issues in an interview and added that Snipes told Goyer he should just quit the movie. Goyer answered back that at the time of the argument all of Snipes' close-ups had been filmed and he could finish the movie with the stunt double, so maybe Snipes should be the one to walk away.
• Throw It In!: Hannibal's questioning "He hates me, doesn't he?" was actually from Ryan Reynolds regarding Wesley Snipes, as the latter was infamously off-putting during filming.
• Troubled Production: The movie went through several directors in pre-production before David Goyer (writer of the previous movies) stepped in to make his directorial debut as a last resort. Snipes disliked him from the start and hated the fact that the script sidelined his character to be a Poorly Disguised Pilot for Hannibal King and Abigail Whistler. He took his vengeance by trying to intimidate Goyer and being difficult with the rest of the cast and crew. It's a miracle the film was completed at all. After it came out, Snipes tried suing New Line Cinema for lost profits and violating his contract (which supposedly said he had control over who the director would be).
• Wag the Director: Wesley Snipes was behind a lot of the Troubled Production. He disliked the director and the script, so he decided to do the least amount of work as possible. He refused to leave his trailer for any scene where his face wasn't visible on camera, forcing his stunt double to perform all his remaining scenes. Snipes accuses Goyer of being a racist multiple times with little to no provocation, but eventually stopped speaking to him entirely, communicating only in Post-It notes, which he signed "Blade."
  • The whole "forgot my sword" bit was a result of this. Goyer claims that, in the middle of an action scene, Snipes decided to have Blade just up and leave, and when Goyer asked why, Snipes just said "You're the director, you figure it out." Fortunately, Goyer realized that Blade did not have his sword at that point, and was able to write in that Blade went back for it.
  • Similarly, in one of the film's final scenes, Snipes refused to open his eyes on cue, necessitating some not-all-that-great (and probably very expensive) CGI eyes for an Eye Awaken gag.
• What Could Have Been:
  • German director Oliver Hirschbiegel wanted to direct the film instead of David Goyer, but dropped out due to contractual obligations directing Downfall, which he tried to get out of doing in order to work on Trinity. He would later regret trying to do so once Downfall was released to international praise.
  • An earlier idea of David S. Goyer was to not only include Hannibal King, but also Rachel Van Helsing from The Tomb of Dracula comics, but then Goyer heard about the Van Helsing movie and decided against it, and created Abigail Whistler in Rachel's place.
  • The original plot was going to be set in a post-apocalyptic future, with Blade trying to protect the last remnants of humanity from the vampires who had taken over the planet. Patton Oswalt said the studio passed because they though the plot was too bleak and depressing, while other sources have claimed they thought the idea was too expensive as well.
  • Triple H's role was originally intended for fellow WWE superstar Edge, whose first gimmicks in the company were officially inspired by the first Blade movie and The Lost Boys (the name "Edge" is a pun with "Blade").
  • The original script contained a sex scene between Blade and Abigail.
  • Colin Farrell turned down the role of Hannibal King.
  • The novelisation features a slightly alternate ending to Blade's fight with Drake; rather than Abigail simply shooting Drake while he's occupied with Blade, she misses her shot with the only plague arrow they had, but then Zoe sneaks up on Drake to stab him in the leg with a silver stake, distracting Drake just long enough for Blade to grab the fallen arrow and stab Drake in the heart with it.

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