If you’re a Marvel fan, the dissolution of the franchise’s Blade reboot aches like a dagger between the ribs. Marvel President Kevin Feige had five years to take a perfect premise — and the perfect successor to Wesley Snipes’ Daywalker, Mahershala Ali — and deliver an easy lay-up. After the departure of three different directors, twice as many writers, and Ali himself, it’s painfully clear this version of Blade just wasn’t to be. Even so, it’s impossible to move on, if only because every mention of the scrapped film feels like a twist of the knife.
Ali and director Bassam Tariq, who was originally set to helm Blade, have since teamed up to make their own answer to that ill-fated film. The lead-up to Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother has been overwhelmed by references to Blade, and not for no reason: even Ali has been outspoken about Blade’s failure and his desire to put his training to use. Demoralizing as it must have been to wait in vain for Marvel to get its act together, all that foot-dragging did make this film possible — and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is probably leagues better than anything we might have gotten from Marvel, anyway.
