The Blade film Marvel never made exists anyway — Mahershala Ali and its ex-director just premiered it at Toronto
Mahershala Ali’s latest action thriller comes with an unexpected link to Marvel Studios’ long-delayed Blade reboot, and premiered at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.
If you were holding out hope for Mahershala Ali's long-promised Blade film at Marvel, I've got some news: it's not happening. But don't despair just yet. Ali's latest project, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, weirdly enough, might actually scratch that Blade itch in ways even the MCU couldn't manage.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother debuted at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September.
All Roads Lead to Swords
First, let's talk about why everyone keeps making connections between this new film and the Blade reboot that never arrived. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother brings Ali back together with director Bassam Tariq, the acclaimed filmmaker Marvel originally tapped to steer their Blade reboot. If you're having déjà vu, you're not wrong – Tariq was on Blade duty before jumping ship in 2022 after enough production chaos to make anyone reconsider their Marvel contract. He hung around briefly as an exec producer, but Marvel kept hitting delays and reshuffles. If you blinked, you missed at least three headlines about a new Blade writer or director.
Ali stuck it out for years, training in martial arts for more than twelve months just to get the vibe right. As it turns out, all that practice hasn't gone to waste. In Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Ali swings a long blade around like a pro, channelling that Daywalker energy into something that, frankly, looks a bit more original than whatever Marvel was fumbling towards. The story follows Latif – a devoutly religious Muslim hitman in Houston whose life turns upside down when his wife dies suddenly, forcing him to defend his children from a tidal wave of enemies from his past. If you've seen the festival buzz, the talk is all about relentless sword fights and a surprisingly heavy emotional punch. Frankly, if you're after swords and tortured heroes, you might have just found your new obsession.
Blade Off the Table? Apparently So
So. Marvel and Blade. Is that ever happening? No – at least, not with Ali. After five years of half-starts, director swaps, and rewrites, he says the project's officially dead. Ali was fairly blunt in GQ about what went wrong, explaining that neither a contract nor studio cash could drag this one over the finish line.
In his own words, speaking to GQ about Marvel's Blade debacle:
"You had me under contract; they have billions of dollars. If they wanted to do the movie, we would’ve done the movie."
And just like that, the collaborative streak between Ali and Tariq took a sharp turn into original territory — which, if you ask me, works out nicely for anyone tired of being strung along by Marvel's endless development abyss. Official word arrived in July 2026: no Blade, no further Marvel plans for this incarnation of the Daywalker, and apparently no regrets either way.
- Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother – Ali and Tariq's new film, premiered at TIFF 2026.
- Ali's Blade training put to good use (just, not with Marvel).
- The film hits UK cinemas on 25 September 2026.