Just after the news that Disney+ will not be continuing with a new season of Wonder Man and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s reaction, there is also confirmation that the Blade franchise, however it will continue, will do so without Mahershala Ali in the role. Ali recently spoke with GQ about his new film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, when he was asked the inevitable question about the Marvel vampire hunter. When he was inquired if we can expect a turn around on the progress of Blade, Mahershala responded,
Not with me. The best way I can answer this question is, when I look at what is for me, it was either this or that—and I’ll take this. No offense to them. I’ve been doing this professionally for pushing 30 years now, and one thing I’ve learned is that what is for you is for you and what is not is not. For whatever reason, that project is not for me. If they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it. So I have to move on, and I have moved on.”
When MCU head Kevin Feige appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to promote the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he was thrown a lightning round of questions from host Josh Horowitz. The first question Horowitz asked Feige was about Blade, why it failed to get made, and how he felt about the whole situation. Feige replied,
I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”
While he didn’t get to don the leather and the sword, Ali gets to flex his action prowess in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. He stars in the film with John Cho, Abubakr Ali, Laith Nakli, Tramell Tillman, Tiffany Boone, and Giancarlo Esposito. The film also stars Adia and Jaheel Kamara.
The official plot synopsis from Orion reads,
“From writer-director Bassam Tariq, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother stars Mahershala Ali as 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.”
Bassam Tariq writes and directs Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Tariq is known for collaborating with Riz Ahmed on a couple of projects — Mogul Mowgli and the Prime Original series Bait. Tariq also produces with Lucan Toh and Babak Anvari joining him. Brian O’Neill is an executive producer on the film.