Additional Coverage:
- Millie Bobby Brown drops out of sports biopic after ‘creative differences’ with Netflix (themirror.com)
Millie Bobby Brown has exited the sports biopic Perfect, reportedly due to creative disagreements with Netflix producers. The Stranger Things star was set to portray Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug in the film, which has now been canceled altogether.
Perfect was intended to dramatize Strug’s iconic performance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where she famously secured gold despite competing on an injured ankle at just 18 years old. The project had faced challenges before; a previous iteration in 2021 involving director Olivia Wilde and lead Thomasin McKenzie also stalled before production.
The film was written by Ronnie Sandahl and was to be directed by Cate Shortland, who replaced Gia Coppola earlier this year. According to sources cited by Variety, Brown and the producers parted ways over unspecified creative differences.
Following the announcement, discussions emerged among fans online, with many expressing that shelving the film might be for the best. Some noted that recent revelations about the abusive behavior of Strug’s coach and the fact that the team would have won gold without her final vault have complicated the story’s legacy.
One commenter observed, “Given what has since come out about her coach’s abusive tactics and the team’s standing, the story hasn’t aged well.” Another added, “It was an iconic moment but also a troubling one, given the coach’s role in long-term abuse and the pressure placed on Strug to perform while injured.”
Speculation also arose that differing visions about how to portray the darker aspects of the story-such as abuse and the questionable necessity of Strug’s final vault-may have contributed to the split.
Though Brown will no longer star in Perfect, she remains busy with several upcoming projects. In 2026, she will lead and produce Enola Holmes 3 for Netflix, star in the romantic comedy Just Picture It, and is adapting her novel Nineteen Steps for the streaming platform.