Natalie Portman steps down from Days of Abandonment; HBO calls the project 'dead'

Natalie Portman, one of the prolific American artists recently withdrew herself from one of her highly-anticipated movies, Days of Abandonment. HBO recently made an announcement of the same through a statement in which they even issued an apology to the audience for not being able to bring a ‘beautiful story’ to the screen. 

HBO issues apology for not bringing Days of Abandonment to screen

According to the reports by Variety, the popular network, HBO recently issued a statement that Natalie Portman, who was earlier cast as the lead actor in the film, Days of Abandonment, is stepping down from the project. It was further revealed that after the actor stepped down, even the project was announced dead by the network. HBO issued a statement that read, “Due to unforeseen personal reasons, Natalie Portman has stepped down from HBO Films’ ‘Days of Abandonment’ prior to the start of filming. Unfortunately, the production will not move forward.” HBO further penned an apology to the audience and while tanking the cast and crew of the film, it stated, “ We are very sorry we won’t be able to bring this beautiful story to the screen with our talented writer/director and cast. We send our sincere thanks to our cast, producers, and crew for all their passion and hard work.”

Days of Abandonment was an adaptation of Elena Ferrante's novel of the same name that revolved around the life of the character, Tess, essayed by Portman. The plot of the movie followed the life of Tess who has abandoned her dreams in order to get a stable home life but when she gets abandoned by her husband, her life changes. While Natalie Portman got attached to the project in April, she also became one of the executive producers of the film along with Sophie Mas under the Mountain A production banner. The project was slated to be written, directed and produced by Maggie Betts while Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler of Maven Screen Media were also set to be the executive producers. 

Natalie Portman’s movies 

Natalie Portman is currently gearing up for the release of one of her highly-anticipated movies, Thor: Love and Thunder, in which she will be essaying the role of Jane Foster/Mighty Thor. The movie has been slated to release on May 6, 2022, in the United States as a part of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Marvel is also coming up with an animated series, What If…?, Portman will be voicing her popular character, Jane Foster. 

IMAGE: AP