Netflix Scraps New Halle Berry Movie

Netflix has canceled the release of The Mothership, the streamer’s anticipated science-fiction film starring Halle Berry. Although the movie finished filming in 2021 and was originally poised for a 2022 release, with the streamer even sharing a brief clip of the film in a trailer for the year’s big releases, The Mothership has been scrapped after encountering multiple delays in post-production, according to numerous outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter.

Although Netflix has not released a statement addressing the decision not to move forward with the film, an insider with knowledge told The Wrap that the decision was not “taken lightly” and was ultimately made due to “the film’s lengthy post-production process and inability to finish.” According to reports, the movie required “significant reshoots,” which would not only have been expensive, but would also have been difficult due to the film’s child actors, who have aged since main filming took place.

The Mothership was first announced by Netflix in February 2021. Written and directed by Matt Charman, the film was executive-produced by Danny Stillman and Berry, who starred as Sara Morse. The film’s logline reads, “a sci-fi adventure that follows Sara Morse 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.” Molly Parker, John Ortiz, Omari Hardwick and Paul Guilefoyle were also in the film.

While The Mothership will seemingly never see a release, Berry remains in business with Netflix. After the streamer released Berry’s directorial debut, Bruised, in 2020, the Oscar-winning actress in November 2021 signed a deal to “star in and produce new films” with Netflix. In a statement to Deadline at the time, Berry said, “the Netflix team has not only been collaborative and creative, but extremely passionate and a delight to work with. I am beyond grateful for the partnership and look forward to telling more stories together.”

Amid The Mothership’s cancelation, Berry will continue to work with Netflix on The Union, an action film starring Mark Wahlberg as a construction worker who is roped into a high-stakes US intelligence mission by his former high school girlfriend, portrayed by Berry. The film, written by Joe Barton and David Guggenheim, does not yet have a release date.