Delroy Lindo teases the role he would have played in Marvel’s ‘Blade’

If Marvel’s Blade reboot ever sees the light of day, Delroy Lindo doesn’t expect to be part of it.

Though he was initially set to star in an undisclosed role — alongside Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali as the titular vampire hunter — Lindo departed the project before it ever truly got off the ground. Reflecting on it now, the actor told Entertainment Weekly why Blade was such a promising prospect when it first landed on his plate.

“When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input,” Lindo shared. “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.”

But that enthusiasm wasn’t enough to bring the film to fruition. “For whatever reason, it just went off the rails,” Lindo said.

So who was the “exciting” character that Lindo was slated to portray in the film? In typical Marvel fashion, the actor was tightlipped about the specifics but shared that “there was a Marcus Garvey-esque component to who this man was shaping up to be.”

Referencing the activist known for his Black nationalist ideals, Lindo continued, “I’m not saying that it would’ve been an out-and-out Garvey-ite. 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 created a community, a Black community. He was a character who was the head of this community.” 

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After cycling through a series of writers and directors, Blade has been pulled from Marvel’s release calendar and remains in creative limbo. The film was originally announced with Mogul Mowgli filmmaker Bassam Tariq in the director’s chair and a Nov. 3, 2023, release date. Tariq exited directing duties in September 2022, due to what Marvel described as “continued shifts in our production schedule.”

By the time filmmaker Yann Demange (White Boy Rick, Lovecraft Country) signed on to direct, the film had already been delayed to a Sept. 6, 2024, release date. It was pushed back again in the wake of the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, landing on Feb. 14, 2025, and then to Nov. 7, 2025, before being pulled from the calendar entirely. Demange departed the project in June 2024.

Several writers have also shuffled in and out of the project: Watchmen alum Stacy Osei-Kuffour, X-Men ‘97 creator Beau DeMayo, When They See Us writer Michael Starburry, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto, and Logan writer Michael Green have all been attached to the project at some point over the years. Currently, Eric Pearson is set to write the latest version of the movie, following prior work on Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow and two of Marvel’s upcoming features, Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four.

As for Lindo, this is not his only once-promising project now stuck in limbo: the actor also leads Amazon’s Anansi Boys series, which hasn’t been released in light of the sexual assault accusations against creator and author Neil Gaiman. A New York Magazine cover story, published in January of this year, chronicled multiple sexual assault and misconduct allegations against Gaiman, who has denied engaging in “non-consensual sexual activity with anyone.” Anansi Boys is one of many projects projects involving the prolific author that were upended in the wake of the allegations.

“I don’t think that’ll ever see the light of day,” Lindo said of the series. “It’s too bad on many levels, but I was really excited to do it.” 

As for what he’s learned from all these derailed projects, Lindo added, “Don’t count your chickens, man…. Because there are banana peels all over the landscape. No matter how experienced the level of talent that’s involved, one can always slip up, which brings me back to the knocking-on-wood thing. S— can happen, man. At any point.”