Baltimore bridge collapse draws comparisons to Obama-produced film about cargo ship cyberattack

Images from the shocking bridge collapse in Baltimore have drawn comparisons online to a recent film produced by Barack and Michelle Obama about a cargo ship under cyberattack. 

The White House has said the incident involving the cargo ship that plowed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge was not believed to have had nefarious intent and showed no signs of terrorism or cyberattacks. 

But online users pointed out similarities between images of the collapse and a scene from "Leave The World Behind," the first fictional film Barack and Michelle Obama produced for Netflix. There is a scene in the film, directed by Sam Esmail and starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Kevin Bacon and Ethan Hawke, where an oil tanker, named the White Lion, crashes onto the beachfront amid a crowd of horrified tourists. 

"In 2023, the Obamas produced a movie called Leave the World Behind, where a cyberattack causes a massive container ship to lose power & crash," Matt Wallace wrote to his 1.6 million followers on X." Months later a massive container ship loses power & crashes into Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, CAUSING A DEADLY COLLAPSE." 

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Workers continue to investigate and search for victims after the cargo ship Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse, March 27, 2024, in Baltimore.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Another user, @GoodShepherd316, shared with his 89,500 followers a still from the movie scene showing the ship running ashore on a beach, and another photo similarly showing the Singapore-flagged Dali crashing through Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. 

"In the movie, ‘Leave the World Behind’ a massive cargo ship loses power and crashes onto a beach. Coincidentally, a cargo ship loses power and crashes into the Francis Scott Bridge. Was this predictive programming ? My friends, we are living in the days of deception. Call on JESUS," the user wrote. 

According to its Netflix description, the movie is about a family's getaway to a luxurious rental home taking an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices – and two strangers arrive at their door. Under the same roof, the families are confronted with strange apocalyptic events, including plane crashes, herds of deer filing into the backyard and one of the children's teeth mysteriously falling out.

One of the characters begins to theorize the events "could be the result of a military campaign intended to destabilize a nation by forcing people to turn against each other," according to Vanity Fair.

"Leave The World Behind," released in 2023, is the first fictional movie executive produced by the former president and first lady through their Higher Ground Productions company, which has a multi-year deal with Netflix. 

Investigators began collecting evidence Wednesday from Baltimore Harbor, and divers searched through twisted metal for six construction workers feared dead.

The investigation picked up speed as the Baltimore region reeled from the sudden loss of a major transportation link that is part of the highway loop around the city. The disaster also closed the port that is vital to the city's shipping industry. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the ship and planned to recover information from its electronics and paperwork, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.

Former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama attend the U.S. Open Aug. 28, 2023, in Queens, N.Y. The couple produced the film, "Leave The World Behind," released on Netflix late last year.  (Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

The agency also is reviewing the voyage data recorder recovered by the Coast Guard and building a timeline of what led to the crash, which federal and state officials have said appeared to be an accident.

The ship’s crew issued a mayday call early Tuesday, saying they had lost power and the vessel's steering system just minutes before striking one of the bridge’s columns.

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Video showed the ship moving at what Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said was about 9 mph toward the 1.6-mile bridge. 

Traffic was still moving across the span, and some vehicles appeared to escape with only seconds to spare. The crash caused the span to break and fall into the water within seconds.

The last-minute warning from the ship allowed police just enough time to stop traffic on the interstate highway. One officer parked sideways across the lanes and planned to drive onto the bridge to alert a construction crew once another officer arrived. But he did not get the chance as the powerless vessel barreled into the bridge.

Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts attend Netflix's "Leave The World Behind" premiere at Paris Theater Dec. 4, 2023, in New York City.  (Michael Loccisano/WireImage)

Attention also turned toward the container ship Dali and its past. Synergy Marine Group, which manages the ship, said the crash happened while it was under the control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help guide vessels safely in and out of ports. The ship, which was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel.

The vessel passed foreign port state inspections in June and September. In the June inspection, a faulty monitor gauge for fuel pressure was rectified before the vessel departed the port, Singapore’s port authority said in a statement Wednesday. The ship was traveling under the Singapore flag, and officials there said they will be conducting their own investigation in addition to supporting U.S. authorities.

The sudden loss of a major transportation link that loops around the city and carries 30,000 vehicles a day and the disruption of a vital shipping port will affect not only thousands of dockworkers and commuters but also U.S. consumers who are likely to experience shipping delays.

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At least eight people went into the water when the bridge went down. Two were rescued, but the other six, part of a construction crew that had been filling potholes on the bridge, were missing and presumed dead. Among the missing were people from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to diplomats from those countries. Three Mexicans were on the bridge. One was rescued, and two are missing, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said. 

The Port of Baltimore is a busy entry point along the East Coast for new vehicles made in Germany, Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom, along with coal and farm equipment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.