‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ Cast Guide (With Photos)

Mahershala Ali is headed back to theaters this fall in a role built specifically around his particular stillness and intensity. ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ had its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival and is set for release in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios on September 25, 2026.

The film marks a reunion between Ali and writer director Bassam Tariq, and the ensemble around him blends Oscar pedigree with some of the most talked about character actors working in film and television right now. Here is a closer look at the people bringing this story to the screen.

Mahershala Ali

Ali plays Latif, described as a devoutly religious hitman who struggles to balance work, faith and fatherhood. The story follows him after his wife dies, when he sets out on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children, confronting the forces closing in around him and the beliefs threatening to unravel within.

The role carries some history. Ali met Tariq when the director was hired for the planned Marvel film ‘Blade,’ a project Tariq departed in 2022, and Ali eventually left the long stalled production by July 2026. Ali had already trained for the physical demands of that role, and after his own departure he reconnected with Tariq to bring that same preparation into ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.’

Critics have singled out his performance since the festival debut. In its review, Variety wrote that Ali is remarkable in a role ideally tailored to his potently still screen presence, noting that composure conveys either nurturing calm or cool blooded danger depending on the scene.

John Cho

Cho joined the film as part of a wider casting wave, taking on the role of Pastor Hwan. He was among the newcomers announced for the project, which at the time included Cho fresh off the horror film ‘Afraid’.

Cho has built a career moving between comedy, science fiction, and quiet drama. His credits include ‘Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,’ ‘Searching,’ ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ and ‘Columbus’, giving him a filmography that swings between blockbuster franchise work and small, character driven films.

His casting alongside Ali was reported as part of a larger group joining the Orion Pictures production, with the film’s plot and character details kept mostly under wraps at that stage of development.

Giancarlo Esposito

Esposito takes on the role of Abdul Malik in the film. He was announced for the project around the same time he joined Elegance Bratton’s ‘By Any Means,’ another project he signed onto that same period.

Esposito’s résumé is one of the deepest in the cast, spanning ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘Do the Right Thing,’ ‘The Usual Suspects,’ ‘The Boys,’ ‘The Mandalorian,’ and ‘The Gentlemen’. That range, from prestige television villains to Spike Lee’s early work, has made him a recognizable presence regardless of genre.

His addition to ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ continued a pattern of Esposito gravitating toward filmmakers with a distinct voice, joining a script that Tariq wrote and directed himself.

Abubakr Ali

Abubakr Ali plays Hatty in the film. He came onto the project following his work in ‘Anything’s Possible’, a film that helped establish him as a rising name to watch.

His casting was grouped with several other actors who joined Ali and Tariq’s production in the same announcement, filling out a cast built largely from performers with strong festival and streaming credits rather than major franchise recognition.

The character of Hatty sits within Latif’s orbit as the hitman’s journey through Houston unfolds, though the fuller shape of that relationship has been left for audiences to discover in theaters.

Laith Nakli

Nakli was cast as Mike Mahmoudi, joining the ensemble after his role in ‘Problemista’. His casting was folded into the same wave of announcements that brought Cho, Esposito, and Abubakr Ali onto the project.

Nakli has become a familiar face in projects exploring Arab and Muslim identity on screen, and his presence here fits a film whose own title draws on religious tradition. The name ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ references an Islamic tradition told in multiple hadith, in which a man asks who is most deserving of good treatment and is told three times that it is his mother before being told his father.

Production on the film wrapped in the spring of last year, with principal photography finishing on May 29, 2025, setting up the long road to its festival premiere and theatrical release this month.

With the cast now fully in place and early reviews already circulating out of Toronto, which performance in this ensemble are you most curious to see when ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ opens in theaters.