diff --git a/Python/future.c b/Python/future.c
index d6b653f..978dc25 100644
--- a/Python/future.c
+++ b/Python/future.c
@@ -60,13 +60,6 @@
 {
     int i, found_docstring = 0, done = 0, prev_line = 0;
 
-    static PyObject *future;
-    if (!future) {
-        future = PyUnicode_InternFromString("__future__");
-        if (!future)
-            return 0;
-    }
-
     if (!(mod->kind == Module_kind || mod->kind == Interactive_kind))
         return 1;
 
@@ -93,7 +86,8 @@
         */
 
         if (s->kind == ImportFrom_kind) {
-            if (s->v.ImportFrom.module == future) {
+            PyObject *modname = s->v.ImportFrom.module;
+            if (!PyUnicode_CompareWithASCIIString(modname, "__future__")) {
                 if (done) {
                     PyErr_SetString(PyExc_SyntaxError,
                                     ERR_LATE_FUTURE);