Recent casting news could indicate that Marvel Studios' Blade film is about to lose another key actor. The Blade film was announced way back in 2019, with Mahershala Ali attached as the titular vampire hunter. In the years since, Blade has stopped and started on its journey to production, losing directors, gaining new actors, and remaining in development hell.
Mia Goth was announced to join the Blade cast in April 2023, where she was reported to play the villain, Lilith. However, later that year, the Writers' and Actors Guild strikes put the film back into its perpetual development cycle. More recently, Goth has been attached to another major franchise, with Jeff Sneider reporting she is joining the cast of Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter, alongside Ryan Gosling. Starfighter is targeting a May 2027 release date and is expected to film later this year.
This casting is exciting news for Star Wars fans, but could be a bad sign for Blade. With Goth now committed to another major project this year, it's a red flag that Blade will not be filming anytime soon, if it even goes ahead. The last news from Blade's troubled production timeline came in October 2024, when Disney officially removed the film from its upcoming release schedule, which might've been the nail in the coffin for the MCU film.
If Marvel's Blade film does manage to get back on track and then attempts to film in 2025, it could mean that Goth will have scheduling conflicts and have to drop out of the MCU movie due to her Star Wars commitments. This would not be the first time this has happened during Blade's development. Several actors have also been announced as part of Blade's cast, only to remove themselves later.
Which Blade Cast Members Have Dropped Out of the MCU Film?
Aaron Pierre
Aaron Pierre (Mufasa: The Lion King) boarded Marvel's Blade in 2022, when Bassam Tariq was directing it. The actor was cast in an undisclosed role, which has remained unknown since he departed from the film in 2024. When Pierre confirmed his departure, he alluded to the project evolving as his reason for leaving, telling Variety:
"Early on, there were conversations. As the project evolved, I’m no longer part of that — attached."
The actor has since been snapped up by a rival superhero universe, landing a role in the DCU's Lanterns TV series.
Delroy Lindo
Sinners star Delroy Lindo was attached to Blade early in the process. Like Pierre, Tariq was the director at the time, and Delroy's character was not revealed.
Earlier this year, Lindo confirmed his departure from Blade, telling Entertainment Weekly that it "went off the rails":
"When Marvel came to me, they seemed to be really interested in my input," Lindo recalls. "And in the various conversations I had with producers, the writer, the director at the time, it was all leading into being very inclusive. It was really exciting conceptually, but it was also exciting in terms of the character that was going to form. And then, for whatever reason, it just went off the rails."
Lindo has since moved on to star in the next Godzilla x Kong film Supernova.
In terms of actors who remain attached to Blade (or at least have not publicly confirmed their departure), Milan Ray remains on board in an undisclosed role, and Ali remains committed to playing Blade.
