Netflix cancels nearly completed 'The Mothership' featuring Halle Berry due to production woes
Recently, we have been hearing more about series or films being canceled. Is this a new trend in Hollywood? The influx of streaming services has triggered a rush among creators to churn out new projects for platforms like Netflix, HBO, and others. Some creators have painfully realized that this rapid growth phase is gradually slowing down. Consequently, significant players are tightening their belts and looking for ways to save. A victim of this shift was the movie "Batgirl," which was slated to be a part of HBO's offering but was eventually shelved.
Feb 2, 2024 | updated: 4:28 AM EST, March 7, 2024
Netflix also had to recently cancel a major star-studded project, albeit for different reasons.
As we've previously discussed, Netflix decided to abandon the nearly completed movie "The Mothership," which had Halle Berry playing a critical role. It tells the story of Sara, a woman whose husband suddenly goes missing. On their farm, Sara and her children discover a mysterious object tied to the man's disappearance.
Reports suggest that the filming had finished, and during post-production, the makers realized that they needed to reshoot some scenes. However, this couldn’t be possible because of...the young cast. The kids have grown considerably since 2021, and the costs associated with adjustments in the production were too exorbitant for Netflix to absorb.
Netflix offers insight on the cancellation of "The Mothership"
Bella Bajara, a director at Netflix responsible for the platform’s content, noted that such situations are exceptionally rare. She emphasized that everyone associated with the production, including the actors and Netflix itself, agreed that it would be wise to not release the film in an imperfect state.
"It's hard to establish any learnings from this. Such instances are so uncommon. And it's important to remember that 100, 150 people collaborated on this, bound by the shared chemistry, creative fervor, and sometimes the result is not as anticipated," Bajara noted. "In this case, several issues related to production and the crew arose. Everyone consented to not proceed further, and perhaps contemplate collaborating anew at a future date," she added.
Today, you'll only come across a few stills from the movie featuring Halle Berry on the internet. Who knows, in a few years, maybe an incomplete version will be shared online. Currently, Berry has a contract with Netflix and is working on another project with Mark Wahlberg called "The Union."
