Mahershala Ali Says 'Blade' Changed His Movie Priorities

Mahershala Ali Says Failed ‘Blade’ Detour Changed His Hollywood Priorities

The Oscar winner says years attached to Marvel's troubled reboot ultimately pushed him toward smaller, original stories with a clearer purpose.

Mahershala Ali in Los Angeles — Mahershala Ali at the Free State Of Jones Photocall at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on May 11, 2016, in Los Angeles, CA. (Depositphotos)

*Mahershala Ali spent seven years attached to Marvel’s “Blade,” but the movie’s failure ultimately reshaped his priorities as an actor. The two-time Oscar winner now wants projects that feel original, purposeful, and worth making. His latest film, “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” reflects that shift.

Ali developed the project with writer-director Bassam Tariq, who was previously attached to direct “Blade.” Their Marvel collaboration never reached the screen, but it created the relationship behind their new movie.

“It’s no secret that Blade didn’t quite work out, but clearly, if Blade had happened, this wouldn’t have happened,” Ali told Entertainment Weekly. He described the new film as “a bit of a happy accident.”

Tariq began writing the screenplay around the COVID era, before he had even met Ali. The story follows Tarif, a devout Muslim, recent widower and contract killer raising his children alone. His faith faces increasingly difficult tests as his violent conflicts threaten his family.

Actor Mahershala Ali arrives at the 2021 AFI Fest – World Premiere of Apple Original Films’ ‘Swan Song’ held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on November 12, 2021, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency)

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Ali said reading Tariq’s screenplay made his decision easy. “It was so refreshing to read something that was essentially a no-brainer for me, for many reasons.”

More importantly, the project matched the creative direction Ali discovered while waiting for “Blade.” He wants to commit to projects “that feel unique, but purposeful, and have a real reason for being here.”

Ali called that realization “the larger lesson for me over the course of, say, seven years or so.” He also wants to return “to stories that really matter” instead of projects that “feel like just reissues of things.”

That doesn’t mean Tariq walked away from Marvel without appreciating the experience. He credited Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige with teaching him to “think big and be ambitious.”

For Ali, the abandoned “Blade” project now carries an unexpected legacy. It introduced him to Tariq and helped clarify what he wants from the next stage of his career.