Actor Aaron Pierre, set to appear as Green Lantern John Stewart in Lanterns, has spoken for the first time about being dropped from Marvel’s long-delayed Blade film. Pierre had been cast in 2022 to appear alongside Mahershala Ali, but repeated delays and creative changes led to his role being cut before production began.
In an interview with Men’s Health, Pierre said the experience taught him a hard lesson about Hollywood timing. “I remember being cast in Blade and feeling elated,” he recalled. “But something I learned during that time was that until you step foot on the set, you haven’t commenced work.” He declined to say which character he had been chosen to play, adding only, “It just took a different creative direction, and I was no longer a part of it. You have to accept that.”
Pierre was hired in early 2022 when Blade was still targeting a November 2023 release. Not long after that, he began filming Rebel Ridge, which premiered on Netflix in September 2024. Two years after being cast, Pierre confirmed to Variety that he was no longer involved. “Early on, there were conversations. As the project evolved, I’m no longer part of that — attached,” he said at the time. Many observers assumed he had left voluntarily, but it now appears the character he was meant to play no longer exists in the rewritten version of the script. Earlier plans indicated the movie would take place in a past era, but the new version takes place in the present day.
Since being announced in 2019, Blade has faced repeated setbacks. The movie has cycled through multiple directors and writers, leading Marvel Studios to pull it from their upcoming release calendar altogether. Actor Delroy Lindo, who was also once attached, is reportedly no longer part of the cast either. So far, the only traces of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are a brief voice cameo by Mahershala Ali in the credits of Eternals, a return by Wesley Snipes in Deadpool & Wolverine, and the character’s appearance in the animated series Marvel Zombies.
Pierre, meanwhile, has found steady work outside of Blade. His film Rebel Ridge earned strong attention on Netflix, and in October 2024 he joined the new DC Universe series Lanterns as John Stewart. He also voiced Mufasa in Mufasa: The Lion King and will appear in Star Wars: Starfighter, scheduled for release in May 2027. While Marvel continues to focus on Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, the future of Blade remains uncertain, with no release date expected before 2028.
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English (US) · 