The timing on Mahershala Ali’s GQ interview is interesting. GQ released it soon after Marvel/Disney canceled Wonder Man after one season. Wonder Man starred Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and he was so good in the role, he got nominated for an Emmy. The cancellation had already reignited the conversation about Marvel’s very noticeable race problems, in that Marvel really doesn’t know what to do about Black characters beyond Black Panther (and I’ve always thought that Black Panther’s success as a franchise is in spite of Marvel, not because of Marvel). Well, back to Mahershala. Seven years ago, at Comic Con, Mahershala was a surprise guest on Marvel’s panel. There was a big, splashy announcement that Marvel would reboot the Blade franchise with Mahershala in the lead role. In seven years, Marvel never made it a priority. They never made one Blade film. Mahershala talks about all of that and more with GQ. Some highlights:
How ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ came to Mahershala: Bassam Tariq was hired to direct Ali in the reboot of Blade, whose pre-MCU incarnation starred Wesley Snipes as the titular vampire hunter. But, in Sept. 2022, with production supposed to be just months away, Tariq departed the project, before a near-tragedy in his own life inspired him to write Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. The filmmaker always envisioned a reunion with Ali, who eagerly signed on to Bassim’s new project as Latif, a devout Muslim who works as a hitman in Houston. His world and beliefs are shaken when his wife suddenly dies, leaving him to care for his newborn and two other children.
Why Mahershala signed on: “I didn’t feel great about the fact that things finished the way that they did [with Blade]; I like seeing things through,” Ali says, adding that he “couldn’t say no” after reading Tariq’s script: “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. I’m so grateful that we were able to see this through and find what I believe is the right thing together.”
Whether Marvel will ever make Blade: “Not with me. The best way I can answer this question is, when I look at what is for me, is 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. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother feels very much in alignment with the type of work I want to be known for. I don’t really want to be known for remakes. I’d love to do original work that resonates with people and impacts them in unique ways. So, I’m good. [Laughs.]
If Marvel wanted to make Blade, they would have already done it: “Again, you had me under contract, they have billions of dollars, if they wanted to do the movie, we would’ve done the movie. So we’re not doing the movie. When I look at this and Blade, I couldn’t have done both, and the reason this even exists is because that project fell apart and Bassam had the time, space, energy, and focus to go and write this and then re-approach me. And I was able to use those skills that I had been working on for over a year training for Blade. In that way, I feel creatively redeemed on some level, just in my own journey between me, myself, and I. But I feel ready to move on from the Blade questions. Those questions are for them. They didn’t want to do it, so they should answer that question.
I’ve been following Mahershala’s career and reading his interviews for a decade – he is not a man who gets heated and mouths off. He does not seethe, he does not lose his temper. But he does judge, and he’s judging the f–k out of Marvel. I’ve seen people argue that Mahershala is as much to blame for Blade not being made, but as he says – Marvel had him under contract. He probably had to turn down other projects because he genuinely thought he would be filming Blade at some point. And he’s right, if Marvel wanted to get it done, if Blade had been a priority to Kevin Feige, it would have already been made years ago. So now we have to ask: why wasn’t it a priority for Marvel? Why are they so reluctant to invest in Black leads?
Mahershala Ali is done talking about ‘BLADE’: “If they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it. So I have to move on, and I have moved on
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You have me under contract, they have billions of dollars, if they had wanted to we would have done it. I feel ready to move on from the… pic.twitter.com/kt7M6GDfqO— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) July 31, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
