Netflix has become the latest Hollywood studio to scrap release plans for a movie that’s already in the can. The Halle Berry-starring movie The Mothership, which was previously slated for a 2023 release date but naturally missed that opportunity, has reportedly been cancelled by the streamer, just not for the reasons that you might think. News of The Mothership having its release plan cancelled comes courtesy of Jeff Sneider’s The InSneider newsletter, where he reveals that the film has seemingly not only been scrapped but that the reason behind it is a new one considering recent developments in Hollywood.
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Though fans have grown used to hearing about movies getting cancelled and scrapped as a means for a tax write-off by the studio, Netflix’s cancellation of The Mothership appears to be for a different reason. According to Sneider, The Mothership was slated to have major needed “significant reshoots” which would have been both expensive but also somewhat impractical. One big factor in making those reshoots difficult is the fact that the film has young actors among its principal roles, who have grown up quite a bit in the 2+ years since filming wrapped. Sneider also noted that the cost of the reshoots wasn’t the biggest factor but that its extensive delays in completing post-production were partially to blame as well.
Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies, Operation Finale) wrote and directed The Mothership. The film also starred Molly Parker (Deadwood), Omari Hardwick (Army of the Dead), Sydney Lemmon (Velvet Buzzsaw), John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook), and Paul Guilfoyle (CSI). A previosuly released description for The Mothership read: “A sci-fi adventure that follows Sara Morse (Halle Berry) one year since her husband 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 their husband, father and most importantly – the truth.”
Berry previously collaborated with Netflix on the 2020 feature film Bruised, which she both starred in and directed. She’s also set to return to the streamer with the upcoming movie The Union, which she co-stars in with Mark Wahlberg and J. K. Simmons.
