The costars recall “strange light” and other occurrences that mirrored the film’s spooky vibes.

Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel felt ‘supernatural energy’ on *Mother Mary *set: ‘There were strange things going on’

The costars recall "strange light" and other occurrences that mirrored the film's spooky vibes.

By Tiffany Kelly

Tiffany Kelly

Tiffany Kelly is a staff editor at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Wired, GQ, and Ars Technica.

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April 17, 2026 4:11 p.m. ET

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Michaela Coel and Anne Hathaway in 'Mother Mary'. Credit:

Eric Zachanowich/A24

- The spooky mood of the new A24 film *Mother Mary*, directed by David Lowery, was also felt on set.

- In an interview with EW, costars Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel recall "strange light" and "supernatural energy" while filming the drama.

- Lowery didn't encounter any ghosts, but he says crew members texted him about odd occurrences: "Something was afoot."

*Mother Mary, *David Lowery's moody new drama, sees Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel as estranged friends and collaborators who reunite after not speaking for several years.

Hathaway's titular pop star and Coel's fashion designer, Sam Anselm, break down what happened between them, and along the way, the vibes become spooky. A Ouija board and a summoning circle come into play. On the set of the A24 film, the lead stars recall eerie real-life occurrences that mirrored the story's mystical qualities.

"I think there were a lot of magnetic things that were happening," Hathaway tells **. "You know, like somebody would think of something and then somebody else would bring it in, and those two people wouldn't have talked. So there's a lot of connective coincidence that was going on."

Michaela Coel in 'Mother Mary'.

Eric Zachanowich/A24

Meanwhile, Coel stayed in a castle while filming *Mother Mary*, which gave off an "interesting energy."

The barn that production designer Francesca Di Mottola built, which serves as part of Sam's atelier and the backdrop for a large portion of the film, also gave off a "supernatural energy within it," says Coel.

"I started having relationships with the mannequins and the stairs and the rolls of fabric. It became my home, and I didn't want to leave it," the *I May Destroy You* creator shares.

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Hathaway also remembers a period of a few days where the light outside the dark barn "felt kind of mystical and wonderful."

"Michaela and I took a couple of days to figure out what it felt like," recalls Hathaway. "And then [Michaela] said, 'It's like we're in the horizon.'"

"So, strange light, strange feelings," the actress, who next appears in *The Devil Wears Prada 2*, adds. "There were strange things going on."

However, Hathaway clarifies, while strange things happened, nothing was unpleasant. "A lot of it was actually quite beautiful."

Lowery, who previously wrote and directed *A Ghost Story* and *The Green Knight*, didn't experience any unusual phenomena himself, but he says crew members texted him about odd events. "I know that something was afoot."

Anne Hathaway and FKA Twigs in 'Mother Mary'.

Eric Zachanowich/A24

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Although he's now made several films that involve ghosts, the filmmaker has yet to encounter an otherworldly being in his off-screen life.

"I'm a seeker," he tells EW. "I'm always open. I'm trying to put my antenna up and say to any phenomena that exists that I would love to make contact. I've yet to meet a ghost. I've yet to become a true believer. But I'm very open to it."

*Mother Mary* is now in select theaters and opens nationwide on April 24.

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