In what many are hoping is a comeback to the big screen, Wesley Snipes returns to a genre that made him famous.

In Antoine Fuqua's 'Brooklyn's Finest,' the lives of three conflicted New York City police officers (Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, and Ethan Hawke) are dramatically transformed by their involvement in a massive drug operation.

For Snipes, who plays a paroled drug dealer named Caz, the role is similar to Nino Brown, the character he famously played in 1991's 'New Jack City.'

After battling some legal issues, the Orlando, Fla., native, whose most recent films have gone straight to DVD, is ready to get back in the game.

In speaking to Black Voices, Snipes talks about 'Finest,' working with Cheadle and Fuqua, and doing James Brown on the big screen.

We heard a lot about your legal issues. How's that going for you?

Wesley Snipes: We are all good. We are on the right path. We are very healthy. Things are going well.

You've done this type of film before with 'New Jack City.' What was the draw to come back to it?

WS: That was actually one of the reservations. I didn't want to do a Nino Brown part two. Didn't want to perpetuate the stereotype we see in movies of brothers being drug dealers and criminals. I found that over the years, a lot of guys would come to me and say, "Yo Snipes, that Nino character you did. That was cold! That's me. That's my story. That's what I'm living now." It was almost like I'm living a badge of honor. Guys, I'm not a drug dealer. I'm just an actor who played one. He died in the end. Didn't you get the point? I had reservations, but Antoine worked it out for me. He talked to me about how the character was iconic and how the character would be Nino after incarceration and rehabilitated. So I thought that would be a different angle because that's not endorsing the game; it's a reflection of the futility of the game. Then he told me who was going to be in it, I was like, "Well, two for five!"

How was working with Antoine Fuqua and Don Cheadle?

WS: It was great. Antoine and I have talked about doing a project for a number of years, but the schedules didn't sync. I always wanted to work with Don, just like I wanted to work with Denzel [Washington] and Laurence [Fishburne]. It was actually the strongest motivation for taking the role. I also wanted to see where my chops were at with all these guys getting awards.

This is also another rare film where your character doesn't jump, fight, kick or exert himself.

WS: That was also important. People started calling me an action star, as if that's all I ever done. It was cool to play this role. I don't have to punch anyone. I don't use the N-word, and I don't shoot anyone. All of that was important for me in this film.

What was it like shooting around New York?

WS: I love it. I love it. It's magical to consider one time I was a little boy looking up on the screen, like "Wow, where is that world, Hollywood? Who are those people?" Then to be in the game and come back and shoot in your own neighborhood or places you've traversed on the reg, it's magical. And humbling, too. Puts certain things in perspective. Went up to some of the resident's houses, just to remember how closed it is. Five thousand00 people in a four block radius. "Wow, Wes, this is where you come from."

Do you see this as a comeback of sorts to get back in the Hollywood game?

WS: If they want to call it that it's cool with me. I've been steadily working. I've been doing a lot of projects around the world and overseas. Expanding that fan base. A lot of the action people overseas can appreciate projects like 'Brooklyn's Finest.' I don't mind being in the Hollywood game, but I like having the flexibility, being ambidextrous. I can play with them a little bit then I can play over here. I'm a very proactive cat, I'll create it myself if it's necessary. Our next project is a martial arts family comedy titled 'Master Daddy.' That's something we produced ourselves. Then I'm doing something we call 'African Anime,' which is an animated Web series that we created on our own initiative. That's not something someone from the Hollywood studio or Marvel came and said "Wes, come and be down with us." It's something we put together, till the soil, watch it grow.

What was the motivation to doing those films that played overseas and went straight-to-DVD here in the states?

WS: I saw some value in expanding the brand that way. When I traveled with Sylvester Stallone for the 'Demolition Man' and our Planet Hollywood venture, I saw how action movies translated around the world. I'm physical, and I can do this stuff. If this is the kind of reaction and broad base fan and support you can get, it's a good move. What you can do is take those fans and bring them into pieces like 'Brooklyn's Finest' or 'The Waterdance' and 'Disappearing Acts.'

What kind of roles you would like to be called for?

WS: It would be nice to do a love story. That would be fun. Me and Woody [Harrelson] have been trying to find a comedy like 'White Men Can't Jump.' I really would like to work with my man again. Of course, I want to do the James Brown story. That's for me. That's the baby. I've been and lived in Georgia. I'm very familiar with the culture. I had meetings with Bobby Byrd and all these cats. I had met James a number of times, and the daughters have signed off on me playing the role. I'm very interested in the showing the range of what I can do. I can be physical. I can sing and dance.

What about the vocal skills?

WS: We'll fix that. Even if we have to fly T-Pain out here and he puts that box spin and run it through the process.

With some many reboots, remakes and now 3-D would you entertain returning to the 'Blade' franchise?

WS: I would definitely consider it, but to be honest with you, I'm very proactive. While they were deciding if they wanted to have further conversations about 'Blade,' we went and created new urban superheroes. I have one where I call him the Blade killer. We have some new stuff that's contemporary, and that's putting us a 100 years in the future. It's beyond what's created by Marvel. I know how to do this very well, and I think I have a track record of success that has benefited even Marvel and this new trend of vampire movies, from 'Twilight' on down. All of those films have some residue of Blade in them.

Are you into Manga, comic books, graphic novels?

WS: Oh yeah. Omandi Mech 5. That's my favorite right now. If you'd like to see it there's a YouTube trailer for it.

How's it working with the younger cast of this movie? Some are even from HBO's 'The Wire.' All of them remember 'New Jack City' and 'Devil In a Blue Dress.'

WS: Oh yeah! That's good for me, because we travel in the world, and once you get back to California sometimes you don't get back to the hood that often. Seeing these guys still have that kind of swagger and flavor and click, that was excellent for me. I didn't know exactly what my character was going to be. I started picking things from these different guys. "I'm going to use that, I'm going to use that." To keep it authentic. That was my research. I might owe them commission, right?

'Brooklyn's Finest' opens on March 5.