Source: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty
broke the news of Delroy Lindo joining the cast on Friday (Nov.19). Lindo will be the first actor cast in Marvel Studios’ forthcoming
Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali as the titular anti-hero
since it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019.
Bassam Tariq (
Mogul Mowgli) will direct the film that features a script written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who also worked on HBO’s critically acclaimed limited series
Watchmen. Lindo’s career has seen a resurgence following his brilliant performance in Spike Lee’s war drama
Da 5 Bloods alongside the late
Chadwick Boseman. Many felt Lindo deserved an Oscar for his role, but the Acadamey snubbed him.
Lindo most recently appeared in Netflix’s
The Harder They Fall, written and directed by Jeymes Samuel and produced by JAY-Z. He plays Marshal Bass Reeves, a real-life figure and the first black deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi who was the inspiration for The Lone Ranger.
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As to his role in Blade, that remains a mystery, but many speculate he will take on the part of Jamal Afari, the man who raised Blade and mentored the human/vampire hybrid. In the Wesley Snipes’
Blade films, the studio chose to make the character white casting Kris Kristofferson in the role, changing his name to Whistler.
If Lindo is indeed playing that character, you can consider this a course correction.
Twitter, as expected, is excited about Lindo joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has since started expanding its multiverse. Ali’s Blade has yet to be seen, but his voice has been heard. In a post-credit scene from Marvel’s latest blockbuster
Eternals, Ali’s Blade warns Kit Harrington’s character Dane Whitman not to pick up a cursed sword called the Ebony Blade. It’s still up in the air if Harrington’s character will be in
Blade.
The multiverse and the future of the MCU are looking extremely bright. You can peep more reactions to Lindo’s casting in the gallery below.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty
