Delroy Lindo Joins Marvel's Blade Reboot

Delroy Lindo is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lindo, one of the best in the biz, has joined the cast of Marvel's new "Blade" reboot alongside star Mahershala Ali. We don't know who Lindo is playing just yet, but the fact that he's involved at all makes this project all the more exciting. Lindo recently appeared in the Netflix movie "The Harder They Fall," and last year he gave a phenomenal performance (that the Academy overlooked for some insane reason) in Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods." 

Bassam Tariq is set to helm the movie, which will bring Blade back to the big screen for the first time since Wesley Snipes played the character in a trilogy of films. In the comics (and the films), Blade is a half-human/half-vampire who hunts other vampires. As to how this new version of Blade will fit into the MCU, well, your guess is as good as mine, reader. 

Delroy Lindo Joins Blade

THR has the scoop that Delroy Lindo is joining the cast of Marvel's "Blade," and I am now much, much more excited about the project. Lindo is one of our finest actors, and I will forever be baffled that the Academy completely overlooked him for his stunning work in "Da 5 Bloods." Get your head out of your butts, Academy! Anyway, THR doesn't have info on who Lindo might be playing, so feel free to speculate wildly! Perhaps Lindo is set to play Blade's mentor? In the films starring Wesley Snipes, Blade's mentor was a white man named Whistler, played by Kris Kristofferson. However, in the comics, Blade's mentor is a Black man named Jamal Afari. Having Lindo play Blade's grizzled, ass-kicking mentor would certainly work, but again: this is all just speculation. 

The character Blade was created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan and first appeared in the pages of Marvel's "The Tomb of Dracula" comic. Blade made the jump to the big screen in 1998, with Wesley Snipes playing the title character. Snipes would return for the sequels "Blade II" and "Blade: Trinity." There's was also a "Blade" spin-off TV series that featured Sticky Fingaz as the character. In most incarnations of the story, Blade is a half-human/half-vampire who uses his ability to move about in the daylight mixed with his vampire powers to hunt other vampires.

Mahershala Ali is set to play the new Blade, with Bassam Tariq directing a script from Stacy Amma Osei-Kuffour. Production on the film is set to begin in late summer 2022.