Delroy Lindo opened up about Marvel‘s long-delayed Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali, which he describes as having “just went off the rails.”
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly to promote Ryan Coogler’s lauded Sinners, the veteran actor commented on the reported creative differences that have plagued the remake, about the Wesley Snipes-originated Daywalker vampire slayer from Marvel’s comics.
“When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input,” the Da 5 Bloods star said. “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.”
Having since exited the project, Lindo — who boarded the film in 2021 — said he was supposed to portray a “Marcus Garvey-esque” type persona.
“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, very similar to Sinners, created a community, a Black community. He was a character who was the head of this community,” he explained.
Late last year, Marvel unsurprisingly pulled Blade from its 2025 release calendar. Originally announced back in 2019, the movie was naturally delayed by the pandemic and dual industry strikes. Since then, it’s also seen a number of exits, including from initially tapped directors Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) and Yann Demange (Lovecraft Country).
Meanwhile, Marvel top brass Kevin Feige said he remains “committed” to the two-time Oscar winner Ali’s take on the character, adding that everyone is “up to date on what’s going on. But I can tell you that the character will be coming to the MCU.” At the same time, Snipes reprised Blade in a cameo role for Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine.
