Just prior to the start of filming Natalie Portman’s Days of Abandonment, it was announced Monday that the adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s best-selling novel has been pulled off the shelf. HBO stated that Portman had stepped away from her role in the project and that production will not continue.

The reasons why Portman had left her role in the film are unknown at this time.

“Due to unforeseen personal reasons, Natalie Portman has stepped down from HBO Films’ ‘Days of Abandonment’ prior to the start of filming. Unfortunately, the production will not move forward,” HBO said in a statement, which Deadline confirmed. “We are very sorry we won’t be able to bring this beautiful story to the screen with our talented writer/director and cast. We send our sincere thanks to our cast, producers, and crew for all their passion and hard work.”

Written and directed by Maggie Betts (Novitiate), Days of Abandonment would have followed Tess (Portman), who had given up her aspirations in exchange for secure home life. But her world would be thrown off after her spouse abandons her.

The novel is characterized as a visceral, no-holds-barred journey into the mind of a woman in crisis, confronting the standards of parenthood and feminine identity as Tess explores the depths of her own psyche.