Director Jon Watts, known best for his Marvel Spider-Man trilogy, left the MCU a few months ago to work on new projects he had in mind. He began that journey with his film Wolfs, which he wrote and directed, as well as produced for Apple TV+.
When he signed on, it was for a deal that was to see the film get a theatrical release, then a streaming release for fans to view at home. The movie was a huge hit, making it the most-streamed film in Apple’s history, and the studio was instantly ready to get Watts signed on for a sequel. But they skipped an important step.
Wolfs was a buddy film about two men in the fixer trade, with an all-star cast that featured Brad Pitt and George Clooney. It was original and well-done, and it had box office success written all over it.
But Apple opted not to give it that big screen opportunity it had been promised for fear it couldn’t bring in the box office numbers of other films released in this format. So Watts walked away, and he explained that choice in an interview with Deadline, in which he explained:
“I showed Apple my final cut of Wolfs early this year. They were extremely enthusiastic about it and immediately commissioned me to start writing a sequel. But their last minute shift from a promised wide theatrical release to a streaming release was a total surprise and made without any explanation or discussion.
“I wasn’t even told about it until less than a week before they announced it to the world. I was completely shocked and asked them to please not include the news that I was writing a sequel. They ignored my request and announced it in their press release anyway, seemingly to create a positive spin to their streaming pivot.
“And so I quietly returned the money they gave me for the sequel. I didn’t want to talk about it because I was proud of the film and didn’t want to generate any unnecessary negative press. I loved working with Brad and George (and Amy and Austin and Poorna and Zlatko) and would happily do it again.
“But the truth is that Apple didn’t cancel the Wolfs sequel, I did, because I no longer trusted them as a creative partner.”
It’s pretty clear that Watts had signed on to one deal, and when Apple didn’t keep up their side of the bargain, and failed to even discuss the decision with the filmmaker, they lost out on the opportunity to have him return for another successful hit movie.
It’s really too bad, as Wolfs was a lot of fun, and exactly what fans are looking for with original content and solid storytelling. But I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Jon Watts.
He’s a talented writer and director, and he will be back to make more movies, surely with a more iron-clad contract next time around.
