Jon Watts pulls the plug on 'Lone Wolves' sequel amid rift

Watts disclosed that the disagreement began when Apple unexpectedly altered the film's distribution strategy. Instead of a full theatrical release, the studio chose to limit it to a one-week cinema run, after which they swiftly moved the £160 million (approximately) production to the streaming platform. "I was completely shocked and asked them to please not include the news that I was writing a sequel," the director stated. "They ignored my request and announced it in their press release anyway, seemingly to create a positive spin to their streaming pivot."

The director was so disillusioned by the situation that he returned the payment he had received 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," Watts added. "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."

The sequel was in the works just three months ago, with Pitt and Clooney slated to return to their roles. In August, "The Hollywood Reporter" mentioned a new agreement between Watts and Apple to produce the sequel, and "Deadline" confirmed the participation of the star pair.

Initially, "Lone Wolves" was to be widely distributed in cinemas before premiering on Apple TV+, but these plans changed. The film debuted on the platform on 27th September after a limited one-week theatrical release in the US. In other countries, it went directly to streaming, becoming history's most expensive television film.

Pitt and Clooney were set to receive £28 million each for their roles and insisted on a theatrical premiere. However, Apple reversed its decision after a series of high-cost films such as "Napoleon," "Killers of the Flower Moon," and "Argylle," which did not perform well at the box office.

George Clooney refuted claims of excessive payments, clarifying that the amounts involved were significantly lower and expressing his disappointment with the situation. He explained that he and Brad had agreed to reduce their salaries to make it happen, although they faced some challenges, which he acknowledged is not unusual. While he found the outcome regrettable, he emphasized that the film would still reach a large audience with a premiere in several hundred theatres, even though a broader release would have been preferable.

Despite the large budget, "Lone Wolves" was met with harsh criticism from reviewers. The film was described as chaotic. Siddhant Adlakha from IGN depicted it as "a slick student film from a rich teen who's subsisted on a media diet of early Guy Ritchie." Xan Brooks from "The Guardian" remarked that the director created a film reminiscent of the meme with two Spider-Men pointing at each other. Robbie Collin from "The Telegraph" labelled the production as "chaotic," adding, "George Clooney recently complained that Quentin Tarantino doesn't consider him a movie star. If he makes many more films like this, Clooney. If he makes many more movies like this, Clooney will soon prove Tarantino right."

Critics concur that Jon Watts leaned heavily on the star duo of Pitt and Clooney, offering a weak plot and an incomplete script with little humour.