There will be no second part of Wolfs. The director and screenwriter closes the project and throws a few strong words at Apple.
At the end of September, a crime action film with George Clooney and Brad Pitt debuted on Apple TV+, which quickly became the most watched feature production on the Cupertino giant’s streaming service. This is hardly surprising – Wolfs is a well-written and even better acted work with a cinematic atmosphere, which has been a rarity for Apple lately. The company recently announced that the second part is only a matter of time, but the creators themselves have a different opinion on this. The director does not want to have anything to do with Tim Cook and company and directly suggests that Apple deceived him.
Apple made the decision behind the director’s back
Jon Watts is responsible for the script and direction of Wolfs – the man behind, among others, the latest Spider-Man films. The American director was convinced by an interesting idea that came directly from Oscar-winning actors – George Clooney and Brad Pitt. The production was handled by Apple, which responded very enthusiastically to Watts’ vision, promising cinema premieres and immediately commissioning a sequel. Both sides had their noses at it – Wolfs is the most watched feature film on Apple TV+ and, in fact, one of the most interesting items on Apple streaming in recent months.
It would seem that everything went according to plan, but unexpectedly Jon Watts revealed in an interview for Deadline that there will be no second part, at least not one that will be produced by the current director. He is not willing to work with Apple because the giant has not fulfilled his part of the contract. As if that wasn’t enough, Apple was also supposed to make important decisions behind his back. This goes some way to explaining why the iPhone maker is doing so poorly in the film market.
Old-fashioned, irrelevant and not part of the modern zeitgeist – strong words from an expert about Apple Videos
Let’s go back to August this year. IN extensive article by The New York Times reported on problems between Apple and Jon Watts, while also touching on Apple’s growing problems in the film industry. Stephen Galloway’s words were then quoted:
“The Apple brand is associated with quality, modernity, elegance, sophistication and forward thinking, and now you are destroying that brand with something that seems old-fashioned, irrelevant and not part of the modern zeitgeist.”
Galloway is dean of the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts – which boasts its ranking as the fourth-best film school – and bluntly said in an interview that none of Apple’s films have been successful from a business standpoint. Apple TV+ seems a bit subdued after mediocre launches Napoleon i Killers of the Flower Moon – i.e. films that were supposed to open the way for Apple to cinemas – currently everything that has been released on TV+ for several months has been mediocre at best.
Wolfs It was supposed to break this unlucky aura and it actually succeeded, but if Apple continues to play dirty like this, it will be able to forget about Hollywood stars and talented directors. The previously mentioned Jon Watts confided that initially the film was supposed to have a wide theatrical distribution, but ultimately Apple changed its tactics just before the premiere and decided to focus on streaming. The director didn’t like this, because Apple made the decision without his knowledge and didn’t even bother to inform him about it after the fact – the media would find out sooner than the author of the script himself.
“I was completely shocked and asked them not to post that I was writing a sequel. They ignored my request and announced it in their press release, clearly trying to set a positive tone for their change to streaming strategy.” – Jon Watts w statements to Deadline
It only gets stronger from there. The director returned the advance payment for the sequel – which Apple has already announced – and canceled the second installment, which he emphasizes as his decision. The reason is blunt and strongly affects Apple’s image as an entity aspiring to a serious position on the streaming market. 2 will not be created because the company is not trustworthy – Apple does not comment on this matter (in its own style), and this only confirms that things are not going well in the TV+ service.
“The truth is that Apple didn’t cancel the Wolfs sequel, it was me who canceled it because I stopped trusting them as a creative partner.”
Source: antyweb.pl
