10 Years Later, Mahershala Ali’s Movie With Near-Perfect Score Officially Comes to Netflix

A decade after Moonlight shocked Hollywood with its bold storytelling, the Mahershala Ali-starrer will find its new home on Netflix next month (via Netflix). Directed by Barry Jenkins, the drama is known for its soft and incredible take on Black queer life in America, and its chaotic win at the Oscars against La La Land. The film has a 98% score on the Tomatometer (via RT).

Ali won the Oscar for the role of Juan in the film, and it propelled him to global stardom. He has since chosen incredible roles and was even supposed to join the MCU as Blade. But the drama surrounding that has become headlines as Ali’s new movie, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, releases with the former Blade director helming the project.

Mahershala Ali’s Oscar-Winner Comes to Netflix in October

Mahershala Ali in Moonlight | Credits: A24

Moonlight follows a young Black man growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood, tracing his search for a place in the world across three stages of his life. Barry Jenkins wrote and directed the film, adapting a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The intimate structure lets viewers watch one person change without ever losing sight of who he was.

The film, which comes to Netflix on October 1, 2026, was a landmark feature for American cinema as it was praised for its authentic representation. It had an all-Black cast and won Best Picture, a historic moment when the envelopes were mixed up and La La Land was initially given the award. Barry Jenkins recently revealed that the moment sent him to therapy (via Vanity Fair).

The film did remarkable numbers for its budget, earning $66.9 million against a $1.5 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Despite being one of the lowest-grossing Best Picture winners, its performance was actually incredible considering the budget, something which we see now in films like Backrooms and Obsession.

Moonlight is now getting a second wave of attention. Apart from its Netflix release, Jenkins announced the theatrical re-release at a Telluride Film Festival screening, and the anniversary event is set to include a conversation with Jenkins, composer Nicholas Britell, and Mahershala Ali. 

Ali is the natural bridge into the film’s legacy, because his performance as Juan, the Miami drug dealer who becomes a father figure to young Chiron, earned him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

After Two Oscars, Mahershala Ali Has Been Careful with His Roles

A still from Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Credits: Amazon MGM Studios

Moonlight changed Mahershala Ali’s life, despite having only limited screen time as the character Juan. The actor won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role, and a few years later, he won it again for Green Book. Ali has since been very careful in choosing his roles. He has balanced both hard-hitting dramas and big franchises in the ten years since.

While he has had a long relationship with Marvel as a whole, the MCU seemed to be right within his grasp and then was taken away from him. Ali was announced as Blade in 2019, and while a solo movie was in development for years, it was finally shelved in 2026, bringing his whole journey to a close even before it officially started.

Ali recently commented on the film’s strenuous journey in development, with multiple directors coming and going, one of whom was Bassam Tariq, who made the recent Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother with Ali. The actor told GQ about the project,

I’m saying no to things in that time because they own my schedule basically. I spent a year training. Yeah. I trained so hard ’til I blew my knee out.  I literally moved, uprooted my family. Moved to Atlanta. We’re there waiting to go, and they just keep pushing it back, pushing it back, pushing it, and we don’t…it doesn’t happen.

Ali has only remained as Aaron Davis, a.k.a. The Prowler, in the Spider-Verse films. When told about Kevin Feige’s regret at not being able to deliver the Blade film, Ali said that he should feel regret. Now, that is an actor who has his priorities sorted.

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