LOS ANGELES — The news that another actor was cast as vampire hunter Blade came as a surprise to Wesley Snipes, who portrayed the character in three successful films, but he says he’s moving on.

Marvel Studios announced at this summer’s Comic-Con that Oscar winner Mahershala Ali would play the comics character in its blockbuster cinematic universe.

Snipes’ last turn in the role was 2004’s “Blade: Trinity.”

“People are very, very sneaky. They try to make it about the actors. And it’s not about me and him,” Snipes told The Associated Press in an interview. “Flattery — what do they say? Imitation is the best form of flattery. Yeah. So you know, it’s something that he has acknowledged he wanted to do, and his family wanted him to do it. So I’m appreciative of getting the love. And I’ve created something that others want to carry on, and maybe put their own stamp on it.”

Snipes, who trained in martial arts, is working on a different action-focused project.

“So we did that (Blade). That’s all great. But we got something else that we going to rock,” Snipes said. “So all of that stuff that you saw in the ‘Blade’ franchise — we got something that’s going to come out that I think people will be pleasantly, pleasantly pleased.”

Snipes spoke to AP while promoting “Dolemite Is My Name,” which opens Oct. 4. He plays the director and co-star of “Dolemite” in the Netflix movie about filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore and his creation of the 1975 blaxploitation classic. Eddie Murphy portrays Moore.

— Associated Press