“Blade” first hit theaters in 1998 and had served as Wesley Snipes’ debut into the entertainment industry. Decades before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was even thought of, Marvel Studios had already released its very first box office success – one that prompted the making of two more sequels.

Over the years, there has been very little to no new updates regarding a new installment to the “Blade” franchise. There was one time, though, that David Goyer, the writer of “The Dark Knight,” revealed that a new “Blade” film was being discussed at New Line Cinema.

“The question is, ‘How long should they stay off the shelf?’” Goyer told MTV News in 2009. “I think, usually, if you give them a little breathing room between iterations, it is better.”

Now, 17 years since the first “Blade” feature hit big screens, rights to the vampire hunter’s movie franchise has quietly returned to Marvel Studios. Considering that Snipes will be present in this year’s 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, it is speculated that “Blade” fans will be pressing him about the film.

“I just hope that we do not have all the questions centered around if I am going to do ‘Blade 4’ or not,” Snipes told Deadline.

As Snipes had revealed, the upcoming “Blade” project is actually controlled by Marvel.

“We did have a really productive and a wonderful meeting,” he said. “We discussed a number of things. I do not know where it is on their schedule at this point – that has not been decided. I guess it is still up in the air.”

His statement somehow confirms that a new “Blade” movie will be in the works pretty soon, depending how things turn out within the studio. Apart from another “Blade” installment, however, Snipes may have also slipped that there is a “possibility” for him to join the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“I have always been a fan of these pieces and adaptations,” he added. “If we do not do a ‘Blade 4’ with Marvel, we will do something else. We have some other characters and some other concepts that are going to be just as exciting.”

“Blade” is an R-rated movie which stars Snipes as the titular vampire hunter named Eric Brooks. Although he hunts vampires to protect humanity from evil, he is actually a human-vampire hybrid. Through the years, there have been three “Blade” installments -- all of which were starred by Snipes -- and a short-lived TV series that had a different actor at its front.