Marvel’s continuously delayed Blade reboot has been stuck in development limbo for years, and now one of its former stars is shedding light on why. Actor Delroy Lindo, who joined the project back in 2021, recently spoke out about his experience and the behind-the-scenes troubles that ran deeper than scheduling or script rewrites.
Blade in Marvel’s Blade (Arkane Lyon)
Lindo’s Early Excitement and Vision for the Character
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lindo described the project as one that “just went off the rails.” He explained that early conversations with Marvel gave him the impression the studio was eager for his creative input, especially on the character he was set to play—someone Lindo described as a “Marcus Garvey-esque” figure.
“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,” Lindo told EW. “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.”
Blade: The Early Years Omnibus (2023), Marvel Comics
Despite the promising start, things didn’t unfold as planned.
“It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form,” Lindo recalled. “And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails.”
Lindo’s comments line up with what fans and industry watchers have suspected for months. Since its announcement in 2019, the Blade reboot—starring Mahershala Ali as the titular Daywalker—has hit nearly every creative roadblock imaginable.
The film cycled through two directors, Bassam Tariq and Yann Demange, and was repeatedly rewritten amid reported creative clashes. On top of that, the recent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought the entire production to a halt, leading Marvel to quietly pull the film from its 2025 release calendar. As Deadline reported, Lindo’s departure is just one more chapter in what has become an endless struggle for the Blade reboot.
Marvel’s Blade Reboot Cursed With Delays and Departures
Lindo’s exit, along with these ongoing delays, adds to the growing list of complications surrounding Marvel’s handling of Blade. For many, the film has become emblematic of the studio’s growing pains as it shifts its focus to more diverse narratives within the MCU. However, these struggles may also signal a larger issue with balancing creative ambition and execution—a theme that has echoed through multiple high-profile Marvel projects in recent years.
Blade: Sins of the Father #1 Cover Art by Claudio Castellini (1998), Marvel Comics
Still, Marvel isn’t waving the white flag. Studio chief Kevin Feige has maintained that the project remains in active development, stating that Ali’s Blade will eventually make his way into the MCU, though exactly when remains unclear.
“The character will be coming to the MCU,” Feige confirmed, though the timeline has yet to solidify.
What Wesley Snipes’ Cameo Means for Blade Fans
In the meantime, fans at least got a small consolation prize: Wesley Snipes, the actor who turned Blade into a cult icon with his late-’90s trilogy, recently reprised the role for a brief cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine.
(L-R): Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
“There’s only one Blade,” he said in the film, in character, “and there’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” The cameo offered a nostalgic nod to longtime fans, reminding them that while Marvel’s reboot might be stuck behind the scenes, the Daywalker himself isn’t going anywhere just yet.
What do you think? Will the Blade reboot ever see the light of day? Let us know in the comments.
I don’t think it will ever get released at this point. Even if it does, it’s already doomed to financial failure. It would have to recoup double everything spent on it up to this point as well as whatever is spent when it finally does get underway just to break even. It’s a perfect example of the sunk cost fallacy.
I don’t know why Blade needs a reboot. In my opinion the movies with Wesley Snipes are great and still work today. Maybe the third one was a bit weaker with all the other protagonists, but the first 2 are still awesome.
I get slightly annoyed when people blame everything for this project’s failure except politics.
It failed at the beginning because they wanted to have a girlboss that would replace blade if the movie sells well.
Why do you think they picked such old actors? Because he was meant to play in one movie and yield to his much better at everything daughter. It failed because they for a hundredth time decided to make annoying feminist lesbian girlboss.