Netflix has confirmed it will not release the sci-fi movie The Mothership, which featured Oscar-winner Halle Berry in the lead role.
Filming was nearly completed, but “extensive reshoots” were required, and Netflix opted to cancel the release instead. Jeff Sneider originally broke the story last month, which was later corroborated by IGN and now The Hollywood Reporter.
Matthew Charman would have made his directorial debut with The Mothership, which he also wrote. Molly Parker, John Ortiz, and Omari Hardwick were due to star alongside Berry.
The film followed Berry’s character and her discovery of an alien object under her home one year after her husband disappeared.
A sci-fi adventure, THE MOTHERSHIP, finds Sara (@HalleBerry) one year after her husband (@OmariHardwick) mysteriously vanished from their rural farm. When she discovers a strange, extraterrestrial object underneath their home, Sara and her kids embark on a race to find the truth. pic.twitter.com/MOUzcGxmjO
— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) February 3, 2022
A major studio cancelling a finished, or nearly finished, movie is not unprecedented. Many will recall the decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to cancel Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme. Batgirl was shelved forever, but Coyote vs. Acme, starring Will Forte and John Cena, is on the market now and seeking a buyer.
Netflix boss Bela Bajaria said The Mothership ran into “lots of production issues and story issues,” which ultimately culminated into the streamer pulling the plug entirely.
“Everybody on both sides, the talent and us, all agreed that it was better to not launch it,” she said. “There was just a lot of issues during production and so creatively, so everybody just felt like it was the right thing as to just not do it and to do something else together eventually.”
While The Mothership is not going ahead, Netflix has announced all of its original TV shows and films for 2024, and that includes Squid Game Season 2.
