Netflix just unveiled the line-up of films they’ll be releasing in 2024, and missing from that list is the Halle Berry sci-fi movie The Mothership – which, as we reported last week, Netflix has decided not to release at all. At the time, their decision to scrap the movie was reminiscent of Warner Bros. scrapping the films Coyote vs. Acme, Batgirl, and Scoob! Holiday Haunt (as well as a couple other Scooby-Doo projects). But, while at a media event yesterday, Bela Bajaria, who is currently serving as chief of Netflix’s film division, said the producers of The Mothership agreed with Netflix that the movie shouldn’t be released. This is different from what goes on at Warner Bros., where filmmakers are shocked and upset to hear their work is being tossed in the trash.
If we had the chance to watch The Mothership, we would have found that the story of the sci-fi movie took place one year after the husband of Berry’s character mysteriously vanishes from their rural farm. Now a single mother, Sara Morse and her children discover an extraterrestrial object underneath their home. It (hopefully) leads them to discover the truth about the patriarch’s disappearance.
The film was written and directed by Bridge of Spies writer Matthew Charman, who was making his feature directorial debut. Berry was joined in the cast by Molly Parker, John Ortiz, Sydney Lemmon, Omari Hardwick, and Paul Guilfoyle.
Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger produced The Mothership, with Berry serving as executive producer alongside Gemma Levinson and Daniel M. Stillman.
According to The Wrap, Bajaria told the media that The Mothership had “lots of production issues” and Netflix only decided to scrap the movie after holding a meeting with the production team and talent. Bajaria said, “Everyone felt it was the right thing not to release it and to do something else together eventually.“
Berry is already working with Netflix again on the Mark Wahlberg action movie The Union, in which “a construction worker is roped into the espionage world by his former high school girlfriend”. Netflix also backed Berry’s 2020 feature directorial debut Bruised, a sports drama about “a disgraced MMA fighter who reconnects with her estranged son and reclaims her power”. After the successful release of that film, Netflix and Berry made a multi-picture deal.
What do you think of Netflix and the film’s producers agreeing that The Mothership shouldn’t be released? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.