Universal Pictures Pulls CARTEL’s Plug

When it was being reported late last year that JONAH HEX would be going back for re-shoots in mid-January, some were wondering what this would do with the time table for Josh Brolin’s next film, CARTEL.  Evidently, it had been pushed back to May, but, now, Deadline is reporting Universal Pictures has other plans.  The studio has pulled the plug completely on the film, slated to be directed by Asger Leth and starring Brolin as a man who seeks revenge against the Mexican cartel that killed his wife.  Production was set to begin in five weeks.

Mike Fleming of Deadline states concerns over the budget, the film’s screenplay, and with shooting such a drug-heavy film on location in Mexico.  There were some issues early on even in the film’s casting, as Sean Penn was originally set to star.  After he dropped out of film making for personal reasons, Brolin stepped in.

The cancellation on the film came from an official statement from Universal:

Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment ceased pre-production of Cartel today. As much as we had hoped to begin filming this spring in Mexico City, the studio and its producing partners did not feel it was creatively ready to move forward under the timetable and budget we had established. We thank all of the filmmakers, cast and crew for their work during pre-production.