Delroy Lindo, who was previously set to star in Marvel’s Blade reboot, has said that the movie “went off the rails”, and hinted at what kind of character he would have played.
“When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input,” Lindo told Entertainment Weekly. “And in the various conversations I had with producers, the writer, the director at the time, it was all leading into being very inclusive. It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form. And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails.”
The MCU’s Blade – and Mahersala Ali’s casting in the titular role – was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, and the movie was meant to be hitting our screens this coming November. Multiple directors have been attached to film, including Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, but both have since parted ways with the project.
In October 2024, the movie was delayed indefinitely when it was removed from Marvel’s release schedule. Six months later, it still doesn’t have a new release date, but Kevin Feige still seems optimistic about the project. “We are committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala’s take on him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You’re all up to date on what’s happening,” he said last year. “But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU.”
As for Lindo, he was cast in 2021, but is no longer involved. Although he didn’t reveal to EW which character he was going to play, he teased that “there was a Marcus Garvey-esque component to who this man was shaping up to be.”
He also revealed that there were similarities to the character he plays in another vampire flick: Black Panther director Ryan Coogler’s new movie, Sinners. “I’m not saying that it would’ve been an out-and-out Garvey-ite,” he continued. “Not that, but just in terms of how this man’s philosophy, his ethos, and what was driving him. He was a character who had, very similar to Sinners, created a community, a Black community. He was a character who was the head of this community.”
Next up in the MCU is Thunderbolts*, which arrives in UK cinemas on May 1 and US theaters on May 2 as the final installment of Marvel Phase 5. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other upcoming superhero movies on the way in 2025 and beyond.