SARANAC LAKE — A feature film, which was set to be filmed in the Adirondacks this fall, has been suddenly “postponed indefinitely.”

Because most people associated with the production have signed non-disclosure agreements, the reason for the postponement — and many details of the on-hold film — have not been made public.

The project from Harlan Films, currently titled just “Untitled Adirondacks Film,” was boasting a director who has “won some of the biggest awards for their directing” and starring an unnamed “A-list actor.”

Casting Assistant Kyle Stone said the staff and crew of the film-to-be found out about the postponement on Tuesday morning. They were all “really disappointed,” he said, as they’ve been putting a lot of work into the project in recent weeks.

“It’s the film business, so stuff happens very quickly,” Stone said. “Productions shut down very quickly. It’s part of the business.”

Stone works with Casting Director Charlotte Arnoux, who was putting out calls for auditions from authentic Adirondackers as they did “street casting” of actors and non-actors. Hundreds of people in the greater Adirondack region were preparing to audition for speaking roles and background roles.

“We are so grateful to all who submitted for the film,” a message on the casting website reads. “All your personal information will be kept confidential and not shared with anyone outside of casting. If production picks back up in the future, we will have your contact to reach out to you directly.”

Greater Adirondack Film Commission Commissioner Eric Granger said the postponement came as a surprise — and a disappointment. With an estimated budget of $50 million, he said this would have been the largest film shot and set in the Adirondacks “by far.”

He had been scouting locations with the producers since last September and said they were “quite a ways” into pre-production.

“Everyone was told to pack up their toys and go home,” Granger said on Tuesday afternoon.

Carpenters and electricians were building a house in Wilmington, he said. Location scouts were looking to film at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center, AuSable Chasm, Poke-O-Moonshine and numerous locations around Saranac Lake. Casting staff were set to do open call auditions around the Adirondacks and in Vermont this week.

On Monday, representatives from Harlan Films spoke to the Saranac Lake village board about getting a special use permit to film a parade scene on Main Street with an estimated 1,000 spectators, 150 to 300 marchers and several floats. This shoot was expected to last two to three days in late September and the representatives said they’d compensate businesses, the village and others for the ability to shoot here.

Granger was not directly privy to what caused the postponement.

“We’re hoping something will happen and they’ll pick it back up and come back,” Granger said.

Harlan Films is a new LLC. Granger said he could not reveal what its parent company is. He also said his NDA did not allow him to divulge who the director or lead actor were, but he did say both have previously been nominated for Academy Awards.

Harlan Films representatives told the village board the movie would have been a “supernatural-type” movie. Granger said, though he hadn’t read the script, he knew it featured a retired military member being hunted down while wondering if the things he was seeing were real or in his head.

Granger said, though this project is not moving forward right now, he’s hopeful the region can become a bit of a film destination. He’s currently scouting for two productions tentatively slated for 2026. Granger said the state’s film office is offering new incentives to film in the North Country — an additional 10%.

“In New York City, they get a 30% tax incentive break, but up here they get 40%,” he said.

To read more about the casting efforts that are now paused, go to tinyurl.com/2eztwfnu.