Delroy Lindo Reflects on ‘Blade’s’ Disastrous Production

While Marvel Studios is expected to have a big year at the box office in 2025 with the release of Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, one film noticeably missing from the release schedule is Blade.

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, it looked like Blade was a sure-fire Marvel hit. At the time the film was announced, the studio was riding high on its historic success with Avengers: Endgame, and Marvel mania had reached a fever pitch.

Source: Marvel Studios

Additionally, Blade had already proven to be a viable film franchise in the past, and the studio had secured the talents of Mahershala Ali, who was set to play the titular anti-hero.

A Catastrophic Production

Since Blade was announced, however, production on the film has been plagued by difficulties. It has now been nearly six years since fans were promised a Blade adventure, and the film is seemingly no closer to hitting theaters than when we began.

Over the past several years, Blade has cycled through six screenwriters and is still searching for its third director. As of this writing, the film is not on any Disney release calendar.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Shutterstock (10341985al)
Mahershala Ali. Marvel Studios panel, Comic-Con International, San Diego, USA – 20 Jul 2019

While Feige and Ali appear to be committed to getting Blade made, it is clear that the original concept for the film has been lost. Not only has the original creative team behind the movie left the project, but many of the actors have also departed.

Delroy Lindo Discusses ‘Blade’

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Delroy Lindo, who at one time was attached to Blade, discussed the film’s production.

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

Photo: ABC 33/40

While Lindo did not reveal what character he would have played in the film, he did tease that it would have been similar to his Sinners character Marcus Gravey.

“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.”

The Actor Remains Positive

While Lindo is no longer attached to Blade, the actor has no ill will towards Marvel.

Photo: Mill Valley Film Festival

“I told my son and his friends, you never know who’s watching. Always do your best. Somebody may come back around,” he explained. “I hope to God that I am wise enough to embrace that and conduct myself accordingly going forward.”