It seems that Josh Brolin's upcoming film has been stopped before it even was started. Deadline New York is reporting that Universal Pictures has shut down the film Cartel.

The film, which Josh Brolin was set to star in for director Asger Leth, was set to start shooting in just five weeks, but the studio pulled the plug over concerns over the budget, the storyline and the logistics of shooting a drug-themed film in Mexico. The story followed Brolin's character, Ed Marker, who is trying to protect his son from the drug cartels after his wife was killed. Here's a statement the studio released to the site.

"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."

We'll be sure to keep you posted on any further details about Cartel as soon as we have more information.