In February 2018, it was announced that Queen Latifah was slated to star in Hope’s Wish, a film that would tell the inspirational true tale of Hope Stout, a 12-year-old North Carolina girl diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer who enlisted the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation to fund the wishes of 155 children with their own set of health issues. Stout succumbed to her illness in January 2004.

Queen Latifah would have been slated to star as the Make-A-Wish Foundation higher-up who played a crucial role in helping Hope meet her funding goal. The film would have been directed by Laurie Collyer. The screenplay for Hope’s Wish was written by Diana Ossana, who won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain.

The film was slated to be financed and produced by Torridon/16:14 and Alcon Entertainment. However, six months later, production on Hope’s Wish was indefinitely stalled when it was announced financiers pulled out.

“There’s no easy way to tell you this,” Stuart Stout said in an interview with the Charlotte Observer in regards to the call he received from his attorney. “They’ve shut the movie down, and they’re pulling out.”

However, despite the financial setback, Hope’s parents, Stuart and Shelby, are still persevering in their pursuit to bring their daughter’s tale to life.

“Never did I foresee all of this happening,” Stout continued. “But there’s somebody out there who will get this done for us, someone who’ll do it and do it right…. We’re ready. We’ve always been ready.”

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Photo: March Forth with Hope / Getty Images

Hope Stout

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