The Mother - What We Know So Far

Jennifer Lopez — whom many, including those at The New York Times, believe should have received an Oscar nomination for her performance in 2019's "Hustlers" — is adding another leading film role to her growing slate of projects.

Variety has reported that Lopez is set to star in an upcoming Netflix thriller, titled "The Mother," in which she will play a deadly assassin. The film will be directed by Niki Caro, who most recently helmed the 2020 live action remake of Disney's "Mulan." Prior to that, Caro had directed films such as 2017's "The Zookeeper's Wife" and 2009's "A Heavenly Vintage." Misha Green, the showrunner of HBO's "Lovecraft Country" and writer-director of the upcoming "Tomb Raider 2," is writing the screenplay, along with Andrea Berloff ("Straight Outta Compton"). Lopez will also produce, alongside Elaine Goldsmith Thomas for Nuyorican Productions.

If a thriller starring Lopez as a killer assassin is of any interest to you, read on to find out everything we know so far about "The Mother" — most importantly, the release date, cast, and plot.

As of this moment, there's no release date yet announced for "The Mother." According to What's on Netflix, which is citing from IMDB Pro, "The Mother" is slated to begin filming on October 4, 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From there, production is expected to last about four months, meaning it'll wrap up in January of 2022. With production going into early 2022, we can likely expect to see the premiere date of "The Mother" to hit in late 2022 (at the earliest).

Fans of Jennifer Lopez definitely have a lot to look forward to in 2022 and beyond. Alongside "The Mother," the performer has four other films lined up — "Marry Me," "Shotgun Wedding," "The Godmother" and "Atlas" (via IMDB). However, "The Mother" is the only one in which she'll play a trained assassin alongside a list of other exciting actors. Which brings us to our next topic — namely, who are Lopez's cast mates?

In September 2021, Variety gave an update on the growing cast list of "The Mother," reporting that actors Joseph Fiennes, Omari Hardwick, and Gael Garcia Bernal have joined Lopez in the upcoming thriller. Fiennes recently wrapped up his stint in Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" as Fred Waterford. Fiennes is also known for his roles in "American Horror Story," "Camelot," and for playing William Shakespeare in 1998's "Shakespeare in Love." 

As for Hardwick, he recently appeared in Zack Snyder's Netflix film, "Army of the Dead" and starred in the Starz drama "Power." Finally, Garcia Bernal recently starred in M. Night Shyamalan's "Old," as well as the Mexican political thriller series, "Here on Earth." From 2014 to 2018, Garcia Bernal also starred in the Amazon series, "Mozart in the Jungle."

Additionally, Paul Raci has been added to the cast. Raci recently made waves for his supporting performance in "Sound of Metal" — and even earned himself an Oscar nomination for the role. Prior to "Sound of Metal," Raci had acted in numerous projects, including "Goliath," "Switched at Birth" and "ER." Finally, rounding out the cast is relative newcomer Lucy Paez, who has just a few credits to her name, including 2021's "The Exorcism of Carmen Farias."

According to Variety, "The Mother" focuses on a "deadly assassin," played by Lopez, who has given up her daughter (Paez) years ago. The assassin then comes out of hiding to protect her daughter "while on the run from dangerous men." Those dangerous men will be played by Fiennes and Garcia Bernal, while Raci and Hardwick — the latter portraying an FBI agent — will allegedly be allies to Lopez's assassin.

As of now, this brief synopsis is all the information we have on the plot of "The Mother" and the characters involved. We can likely expect to see all the makings of a good action thriller — intense fight scenes, on-the-run moments and so on — made all the more exciting by having a woman at the center, something that is still somewhat rare for the genre, as a whole. And of course, having the ultra talented Lopez taking on that role will likely only make it all the more memorable.

We can't wait to find out more about "The Mother," and stay tuned to this space for more updates as they come.