
Universal and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment decided to axe the film due to budget, script problems and had issues with filming a drug-related project in Mexico.
"Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment ceased pre-production of Cartel today. As much as we had hoped to begin filming this spring in Mexico City, the studio and its producing partners did not feel it was creatively ready to move forward under the timetable and budget we had established. We thank all of the filmmakers, cast and crew for their work during pre-production."