According to The Hollywood Reporter, Skydance has officially decided to cancel the production of its long-planned sports drama film Dallas Sting, which would have told the true story of how a soccer team consisting of Dallas high school girls beat the odds by winning against other experienced teams in China. The cancelation occurs mere weeks before production was set to begin on the film.
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The outlet’s sources note that Skydance and its producers had a difficult time letting go of the project, especially when they felt that this kind of inspirational story needed to be told. However, after discovering undisclosed damning allegations regarding some aspects of the true story, Skydance and the producers felt they had no choice but to scrap the film.
Dallas Sting would have been led by Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey. The outlet confirmed that Booksmart star Kaitlyn Dever was also attached to portray the daughter of Coach Bill Kinder. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland was previously set to helm the film.
McConaughey was expected to play Coach Bill Kinder, who leads the rag-tag group of Texan teens toward a Rocky-esque destiny — despite not having any experience in coaching the sport. It was an underdog film, which was written by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch.
In 1984, China invited America’s U.S. Soccer team to the first world championship, which was a big step for international relations. The only problem was the country didn’t have a women’s soccer team who could represent the United States. Because of this, they enlisted a group of Dallas high school girls through a nationwide search.
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Dallas Sting was developed by Skydance and Berlanti Schechter Productions. It was being produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Robbie Rogers, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger.
