Delroy Lindo Says Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Was ‘Really Exciting’ Before It ‘Went Off the Rails’

"It was all leading into being very inclusive," Lindo, who is now starring in "Sinners," said of the long-gestating MCU installment, which has been in the works since 2019.

So what really happened with Marvel’s long-awaited, long-plagued “Blade” reboot? Star Delroy Lindo has a few answers.

In a new interview, Lindo revealed that he was cast in one of the (many) iterations of the project. Mahershala Ali was announced to play the titular character in 2019, and was even teased in the role during a post-credits scene for 2021’s “Eternals.” 

Bassim Tariq, Yann Demange, “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto, “Logan” writer Michael Green, Eric Pearson, and more creatives have all been attached to the film across six years of development. The comic book adaptation was later pulled from Disney’s 2025 release schedule in late 2024.

Lindo, who currently stars in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” (which is, funnily enough, another vampire film, albeit an original feature instead of comic book IP), told EW that “Blade” was “really exciting conceptually” before the film “went off the rails.”

“When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input,” Lindo said, citing that he was cast in a “Marcus Garvey-esque” role akin to the real-life Jamaican political activist. “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.”

Lindo continued, “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.”

Original “Blade” actor Wesley Snipes, who led the franchise beginning with the 1998 tentpole film “Blade,” followed by 2002’s “Blade II” and 2004’s “Blade: Trinity,” also told Entertainment Weekly that the “Blade” reboot delays is not the “fault” of actor Ali. It was rumored that Ali was not enthused by the direction the project was taking, and sought to bring in other writers and directors.

“It’s not the actor’s fault. There’s a lot more that goes on with pulling this ‘Blade’ stuff off,” Snipes said. “You need a lot of secret sauce to do the ‘Blade’ thing, man. Good luck. You’re my man, though.”

He added of Ali, “I shouted him out, told him he’s got all my blessings and support. I even referenced the fact that some of the challenges they’re facing now with the project, it shouldn’t be accredited to him.”