Matthew McConaughey’s soccer movie canceled weeks before filming due to “disturbing” subject matter

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Matthew McConaughey's latest film Dallas Sting is no longer moving forward at Skydance. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers received "disturbing allegations surrounding aspects of the true story on which the drama was based." A misconduct investigation led Skydance and Berlanti Schechter to halt production last minute.

The real-life Dallas Sting is a youth soccer team for amateur female players, founded as the first of its kind in 1973, that went on to beat all odds and win a major international championship. McConaughey was set to play coach Bill Kinder, a determined man who put $85,000 on his credit cards for non-refundable tickets to a match in China, where it was expected that the girls would lose (via Deadline). Kaitlyn Dever (Dopesick, Booksmart, Ticket to Paradise) was set to play his daughter.

Production was set to begin in New Orleans in just six weeks, with Kari Skogland set to direct from a script by GLOW's Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch. The screenplay was adapted from an unpublished article written by Flinder Boyd, which Skydance and Berlanti Schechter won the rights to in an auction.

The Hollywood Reporter also reports that a considerable amount of money and effort was put into an "extensive audition process" to find actual soccer players with acting abilities. No other details have been released about the "disturbing allegations" and whether or not they speak to the source material.

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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.