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Back in November 2021, noted actor Delroy Lindo was announced to be a part of Marvel Studios' much-hyped Blade movie reboot starring Mahershala Ali to debut in theaters in November 2023. But now, with that release date come and gone and delays mounting, Marvel Studios has released Lindo from his contract according to The Hollywood Reporter.

For Lindo, this would be the second time he's cast in an MCU project only to have it pulled out from under him. Years before Blade, Lindo appeared as Dominic Fortune in an ABC spin-off to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, titled Marvel's Most Wanted. A pilot was filmed with Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood reprising their Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. roles as Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter, respectively. Filmed in early 2016, the Marvel's Most Wanted pilot was passed on by ABC soon after with no reports of Marvel shopping it around to other platforms.

Delroy Lindo's role in Marvel Studios' Blade was never officially announced by the studio, but it has been confirmed it was to be for the original planned version of the movie to be set in the 1920s. Another Blade cast member, Aaron Pierre, was also let go from the project; however Mia Goth, who was at one time to play Lilith in Blade, remains attached for if and when the Blade movie ends up being made.

Blade is scheduled to open in theaters November 7, 2025. An entirely new script is reportedly being written now by Eric Pearson (who's also worked on Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four reboot), with plans for the studio to begin a new director search in the fall - which would mean either a super-tight turnaround to film a movie, or another release date delay for the Blade film.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters