Halle Berry is excited about her upcoming movie costarring Angelina Jolie — despite a tricky beginning to their partnership.
In an interview published Wednesday, Berry, 57, revealed to Variety at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that she and Jolie, 48, “had a rocky start” working on Maude v Maude.
However, she added, “I think that is going to serve us well in our screen time together.”
The X-Men star also called her fellow Oscar-winning actress “formidable” and that she was “thrilled to work with another woman and craft a story with our sensibility and from our point of view.”
The two found plenty in common, said Berry, in sharing their respective experiences. “We’ve been talking a lot about divorces and exes. We bonded, let’s say that.”
Maude v Maude is an action-thriller film that will reportedly feature Berry and Jolie battling “physically and intellectually” on the big screen.
It’s directed by Roseanne Liang with a script from Scott Mosier. Both are among its producing team, which also includes Berry and Jolie.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The film, which Deadline describes as a “‘Bond vs. Bourne’ type of global action thriller,” ended up in the hands of distributor Warner Bros. following a heated bidding war in April.
“Warner Bros. bought our screenplay and, for us, it is about going places that have never been shown on screen before,” Berry told Variety. The outlet reported that the director-star was in Saudi Arabia in part to scout for locations to shoot the upcoming film. “We plan on going all around the world,” she said.
Halle Berry Talks Lifelong ‘Connection’ with Her 5th Grade Teacher — Who Is Now Her Kids’ Godmother
Reacting to a post today about Maude v Maude featuring pictures of the two stars on X (formerly known as Twitter), Berry wrote: “Someone just tweeted a ‘mother off’ and I’m laughing so hard right now.”
She continued, addressing fans, “Glad you guys are just as excited about this project as I am.”
Berry also got frank about her 2020 film Bruised, which she starred in, produced and directed in her behind-the-camera debut.
“Because I was a woman, and a Black woman, the treatment I received and the things I had to put up with were unconscionable,” she told Variety, calling the process “hell.”
She added of the MMA drama, “If I were a white man or even a Black man, it would have been easier. It’s amazing I even made it and a miracle Netflix bought it.”
Berry last appeared on the big screen with 2022’s Moonfall. Meanwhile, Jolie has the Maria Callas biopic Maria, Maleficent 3 and Kung Fu Panda 4 on the horizon, her first projects since 2021’s Eternals.