One look at the iconic actor's filmography will give us the answer. Before Major League, Snipes had appeared in four features, with only minor roles in each. After Major League, he was on a fast track to mega-stardom. In 1990, he appeared in Mo' Better Blues and King of New York, which afforded him the opportunity to work with legendary directors Spike Lee and Abel Ferrara, respectively. Then, in 1991, came the role that launched his career into the stratosphere: The ruthless drug lord Nino Brown in New Jack City, a smash hit that also introduced the world to Chris Rock and revealed the formidable acting talent of Ice-T. Over the next couple years, Snipes would move into starring roles, racking up hits like White Men Can't Jump, Passenger 57, Rising Sun, and Demolition Man. By the time Major League II began to take shape, Snipes was an in-demand, well-paid, proven box office lead. Apparently, returning to the role that made him a star never even crossed his mind.
In a retrospective on the first film by Sports Illustrated, Bernsen remembered his only conversation with Snipes about the sequel, and it's not too fond a memory. "I said, 'Hey, man, they're gonna make Major League II!' And he was like, 'You're gonna do that?' And I thought, 'Wow, how quickly they forget.' He'd become Wesley Snipes. That rubbed me the wrong way." That's understandable, but you can't fault Snipes' instincts, since the second film was a near-universally-panned flop, and while Bernsen would return for the even-worse 1998 spin-off Major League: Back to the Minors, Snipes spent that year making Blade, the proto-Marvel movie that made him an even bigger star.
