Ali was initially slated to star in Marvel's Blade, a role that promised significant on-screen action alongside director Bassam Tariq. However, the project ultimately stalled, leaving Ali with a readiness for action that needed an outlet. Fortunately, the professional connection forged with Tariq paved the way for their new venture, Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, where Ali could finally showcase the physicality he had been honing.

Speaking at The Hollywood Reporter’s Studio at TIFF, Ali explained the profound appeal of the new film. "It offered up an opportunity to engage and commit to the type of difficult I want to commit to," he stated, emphasizing that "this work is gonna be hard regardless — whether you’re in a good film or a bad film." He found the project "very exciting," noting it demanded deep emotional engagement while simultaneously checking "an action, movement, physicality box for me that I had been really yearning to really invest energy in."

In Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, Ali portrays Latif, a devout Muslim and contract killer navigating Houston to protect his three children after his wife's death. His journey is fraught with peril, including confrontations with John Cho’s Haun Yoon, an Army veteran and militant church leader intent on eradicating what he perceives as grave evils.

Director Bassam Tariq revealed that the action film drew inspiration from his own experiences as a new father, particularly the sentiment of "not feeling like you’re enough as a provider." Ali recounted how Tariq’s vision immediately resonated with him upon reading the script. "Sometimes, you read things and energy starts going off," Ali shared. "It just resonates in a way where you feel called to it — almost as if you don’t even have a choice." While initially having questions about how Tariq would "stitch very different worlds together," Ali ultimately put his trust in the filmmaker. "He is an amazing filmmaker and he was able to, in my humble opinion, stitch that world together in such a fascinating way," Ali praised.

Beyond this film, Ali is also expanding his action repertoire in the second season of HBO’s Task, which commenced filming in July. The Oscar winner hinted at the demanding nature of the series, teasing, "I’ll just say that there is some physical work in that as well. It’s challenging in a very different way, but I’m getting through it."

Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother made its debut on September 12 at TIFF before its subsequent release by Amazon MGM.