Netflix Shelves Halle Berry’s ‘The Mothership’

In a surprising development, Netflix will no longer be releasing Halle Berry’s sci-fi movie The Mothership, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Berry and the Mothership team already completed much of the filming on the project, but it was in need of extensive reshoots to get it over the finish line. Netflix opted not to move forward with those reshoots and shelved the film instead. The InSneider newsletter first reported the news.

The sci-fi film starred Berry as a woman who discovers an extraterrestrial object under her home one year after the disappearance of her husband. Matthew Charman (Bridge of Spies) wrote and directed The Mothership as his feature directorial debut. The ensemble cast included Molly Parker, John Ortiz and Omari Hardwick.

That move recalls Warner Bros. Discovery’s 2022 decision to ax Batgirl, the DC film that already completed shooting and was expected to arrive on HBO Max. The company also shelved the animated feature Coyote vs. Acme late last year, though it has allowed the filmmakers to shop it around to other studios. To date, no buyer has emerged.

MRC, the company behind last year’s Netflix Sundance acquisition Fair Play, backed Mothership. Berry and Danny Stillman executive produced The Mothership, with Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones from Automatik producing.

Berry remains in business with Netflix, which released Bruised, her 2020 directorial debut, after it bowed at the Toronto Film Festival. She also has the Mark Wahlberg feature The Union with the streaming service coming up.

Earlier this week, Scott Stuber announced he will step down from the streaming service’s top film job in March to form his own media company. Stuber and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos were instrumental in courting Berry and other top talent to make films for Netflix.