Delroy Lindo Joins Marvel Studios' 'Blade'

Marvel’s ‘Blade’ reboot has just made another exciting casting announcement

Delroy Lindo has entered negotiations to be cast opposite Mahershala Ali in the comic giant’s update on the legendary vampire hunter. Bassam Tariq (‘Mogul Mowgli’) is handling director duties on the film that will see Ali portray Blade. Lindo’s role has yet to be disclosed.

Since making his debut in comic form in 1973, Blade has grown from being a cult favourite to a mainstream hit with fans becoming one of the first African-American led comic book characters. A half human half vampire due to his mother being bitten by a vampire giving birth to him, it is his sworn duty to rid the world of evil vampires and protect the mortal race. This will mark the second big screen iteration for Blade having been played in a trilogy of films by Wesley Snipes that were released between 1998 and 2004. While Snipes’ version was a hard R action horror flick, it is very likely this will have the PG-13 rating of fellow MCU movies.

The announcement of a new Blade film was made at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con alongside Ali’s casting. This project, along with other recent hires, showcases Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige’s mandate for more inclusive representation in front of and behind the camera as the universe navigates its future without Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The recent releases of ‘Shang-Chi’ and ‘Eternals’ have proven that this is a successful approach.

A veteran character actor for over 30 years, Lindo is going through a bit of a late career renaissance. Much of that is thanks to his critically acclaimed performance in Spike Lee’s war drama ‘Da 5 Bloods’ which got him awards buzz and numerous critics mentions. You can currently see Lindo in another Netflix produced movie, the Western ‘The Harder They Fall’ which features an amazing predominantly POC cast including Idris Elba, Regina King and LaKeith Stanfield.

After pandemic related delays, it seems like Blade is finally moving right along to production and Lindo’s casting is further proof of that. While not much is known about the approach Feige and company will take for this version, it is no doubt exciting to potentially see a darker character at the forefront of this growing universe. The hope is for Blade to start shooting next summer with a possible release date for either November 2023 or February 2024.