Mahershala Ali has moved on from Marvel Studios' Blade movie, but he's found a suitable replacement with Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. The first full trailer has been released today, and it more than makes up for the Oscar-winner not getting to play the Daywalker.
The action-packed movie, confirmed for an initial September 25 theatrical release, is helmed by Bassam Tariq, who was set to take charge of the unmade MCU for a time.
Now, he and the Jurassic World Rebirth star reunite in a movie that also features John Cho (Star Trek), Abubakr Ali (Grendel), Laith Nakli (Ms. Marvel), Tramell Tillman (Severance), Tiffany Boone (The Chi), and Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian).
The sneak peek showcases Latif, a devoutly religious hitman who struggles to balance work, faith, and fatherhood. When his wife dies, he embarks on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children, confronting the forces closing in around him—and the beliefs threatening to unravel within.
In a recent interview with GQ, Ali addressed his reunion with Tariq. "I didn't feel great about the fact that things finished the way that they did [with Blade]; I like seeing things through. I was really attracted to the challenge of playing a character that felt so stretched, but also the intimacy of his situation and the potential care he would take in executing his mission."
"All TV and films are hard, and I just want it to be difficult for the right reasons, and it felt like this was going to be that," he continued. "I'm so grateful that we were able to see this through and find what I believe is the right thing together."
Tariq added, "I didn’t even tell Mahershala this until recently, but, in the earliest drafts of this, I didn't even have a name for the character — I just wrote 'Mahershala.' Because I've been imagining, how do you carry dignity and grief, and have grace under fire? It's a tough thing. Some actors are incredible thespians, but when they move or run, they can't nail it."
"Mahershala is an athlete, and I saw the way he uses a sword on Blade. The first time he was doing sword practice on Blade, the stuff coming back was incredible," the filmmaker recalled. "Then, here, it was exceptional to see the way Mahershala rose to that occasion; he was able to anchor it all."
Marvel Studios appears to have shelved Blade indefinitely, so only time will tell who gets to bring the iconic vampire hunter back to our screens. In the meantime, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother looks set to show Marvel Studios what it missed out on...