Jennifer Lopez takes on her most action-oriented role yet as an assassin in Netflix's The Mother trailer. The film also stars Joseph Fiennes, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, Paul Raci and Gael Garcia Bernal. The Mother comes from Niki Caro, who recently directed Disney's live-action Mulan remake, from a script written by Andrea Berloff, Peter Craig and Misha Green, based on a story by Green.
Lopez is highly regarded as a musical performer, and her breakout acting performance capitalized on that fact as she portrayed a singing superstar in 1997's musical biopic Selena. Since then Lopez has tackled a variety of genres, most recently earning accolades for her performance in 2019's strippers-turned-con-artists drama Hustlers, which saw her playing a fierce maternal figure to a group of criminal exotic dancers. She is perhaps best known for her performances in romantic comedies, starring in romcoms like Maid in Manhattan, The Wedding Planner, and this year's Marry Me, banking again on her musical prowess.
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Now Lopez is taking on the action genre to play an assassin in The Mother. The trailer was released as part of TUDUM, Netflix's online fan event put on to promote their upcoming films and shows. The plot concerns Lopez's assassin coming out of hiding to protect the daughter she gave up years ago. The teaser showcases Lopez vaulting over railings, getting into car chases, and physically training for some impending showdown. Check out the trailer below:
Why The Mother Is Good For Jennifer Lopez's Career
Lopez has dabbled in the action genre before, with performances in films like Enough and Parker, but the former was grounded in a domestic-abuse drama, and the latter saw her mostly playing a romantic interest to Jason Statham's character, who had the majority of the action. Even in three seasons of NBC's Shades of Blue playing a crooked cop, Lopez's action scenes were few and presented as the sorts of scenes often found in procedural dramas. The Mother will be her first out-and-out action role. At 53-years-old, the star is following in the steps of Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson, who both began pursuing action films later in their careers and now almost exclusively star in them. As it did for Theron and Neeson, this could herald a new phase in her career and expand her fanbase even further.
Lopez has never been one to shy away from testing her versatility as a performer. Having tackled creature features, thrillers, romances, comedies, and dramas, she seems all but poised to excel at action as well. This won't be her only stab at the genre either, as her follow-up will be the action-forward sci-fi film Atlas, where Lopez will face off with Simu Lui in a mech suit. The Mother is set to premiere on Netflix in May 2023, just in time for Mother's Day.