Tariq Premieres Post-Blade Film at TIFF, Credits Marvel — SkimNews
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- "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother" has its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, September 12, with Amazon MGM Studios releasing it theatrically on Friday, September 25.
- Bassam Tariq cast two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as Latif, a Muslim hitman struck by sudden loss and desperate to feed his youngest child — a partnership that originated during their shared time on the abandoned MCU "Blade" film with Ali attached as the titular vampire hunter.
- Tariq described walking away from directing "Blade" as "difficult," but said the fallout moved his family to Atlanta and freed him to spend more time with his children while crystallizing the story he wanted to tell.
- The script traces back to Tariq's wife facing a health scare after their first child was born, then to the pandemic shutdown that stranded his prior film "Mogul Mowgli" after its Berlin premiere just as the world closed.
- Tariq cited "Solo" cinematographer Bradford Young's Team Deakins podcast episode on the burden of being the first Black cinematographer on a "Star Wars" film — and the question "Will you still love me if this doesn't work?" — as an emotional touchstone.
- Working with Marvel and Kevin Feige taught Tariq to "think big" and aspire to make artful, accessible films that reach broad audiences without becoming "a film by committee."
- Tariq framed the film as "almost like a samurai film about a man that has to kill all the versions of himself to be the father that's necessary for his children."
Why it matters: Amazon MGM's September 25 theatrical release of an original Muslim-led drama starring two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali — greenlit after its director's exit from the Marvel "Blade" slate — signals the studio is still betting on prestige originals beyond franchise IP. Tariq's candid admission that he felt he 'let my community down' by leaving Blade quantifies the emotional weight carried by first-of-kind filmmakers when they walk from milestone projects.
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