Mahershala Ali will lead the cast of Marvel Studios’ upcomingBladereboot as the titular vampire slayer, and now another major name has just been revealed to star alongside the actor.Delroy Lindois reportedly in final negotiations to play a role in the newBlademovie, though the nature of his role hasn’t been revealed. Marvel neglected to provide an official comment on the news.
While we have no idea who Lindo will be playing in this movie, it’s undoubtedly fantastic news to learn of his involvement, regardless of the role. Lindo, a veteran actor, is known for his frequent work with Spike Lee, which includes starring alongsidethe late Chadwick BosemaninDa 5 Bloods. His other credits includeGet Shorty,Gone in 60 Seconds,Malcolm X, andDomino, and he recently starred in the Revisionist WesternThe Harder They Fallwith Jonathan Majors and Idris Elba. He almost starred in a Marvel series with a lead role in the unairedMarvel’s Most Wanted, though he’s acclaimed for his main role inThe Good Fight.
As forBlade, what we know about the reboot is that it will feature Mahershala Ali in the lead role, but no specific details have been revealed. The character recently made his official debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although it was off-screen for a post-credit sequence inEternals. Because Ali was not credited, many fans hadn’t realized at first it wastheBlade they were hearing, but director Chloe Zhao has since made that more clear.
“That was the voice of one of my favorite heroes, Mr. Blade himself. Blade, Blade, Blade!” Zhao told Fandom. “You just have to wait for it [to see what happens next]. I don’t know what they’re doing with the movie, but Mahershala is a treasure. It’s going to be epic.”
“It was really cool getting to do that. It was scary,” Ali himself separately said in an Empire interview. “Because, you know, you’re talking before you’re filming it. I’m pretty particular about my choices, like most actors, and so having to make some choices – even with a line, vocally – this early on, it brought up some very real anxieties. And it made the job real. It’s like, ‘Okay,this is happening now’, you know, and that’s exciting.”
He added, “Marvel movies are the biggest franchise right now and just to get my little introduction to that – starting with the Comic-Con a couple years ago, and now the very early stages of stepping into the shoes of that character – it felt special and really cool. I’m excited to get going and do more.”
Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) is on board to direct theBladereboot for Marvel Studios. The screenplay comes from Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen). The plan is forBladeto reportedly begin filming in the summer of 2022, and an official release date hasn’t yet been announced by the studio. There were rumors of the movie arrivingmuch earlier than expected, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, especially with casting still gradually coming together. This news comes to us fromThe Hollywood Reporter.
