Jon Watts Explains His Departure from the MCU by Raving About His New Film: “Wolfs is mine, and that’s a really good feeling”

Thanks to his work on Spider-Man’s ‘Home’ trilogy, Jon Watts became a key figure in the MCU, credited with some of the franchise’s highest-grossing and most successful films. Watts infused the Spider-Man movies with a youthful, high school-focused tone, setting them apart from other superhero films.

This approach resonated strongly with both critics and audiences. In No Way Home, he successfully navigated the challenge of integrating Spider-Man into the Multiverse, delivering an exceptional and well-received film.

Watts was initially approached to direct Fantastic Four: First Steps but ultimately chose to step away not only from that project but also from the Spider-Man franchise. As Spider-Man 4 searches for a new director, Watts is focusing on his upcoming film, Wolfs, which stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney as rival “fixers.”

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Watts shared why he left the MCU and how Wolfs aligns better with his creative vision. After the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Watts felt a strong urge to pursue more personal and original projects. The superhero genre, especially within the MCU, often involves navigating a complex, interconnected framework with numerous creative constraints. Watts wanted to explore new ideas and express his own style, leading him to create Wolfs, an original action-comedy film.

Sometimes you do an action movie, and all the fun action stuff is given to the second-unit director. On the Marvel movies, you split up the work because there’s so much to be done. Rarely do you get the Christopher Nolan opportunity to do all of it. On this one, I was like, ‘I want to shoot every single shot.’

Producer Dede Gardner explains that Watts wanted to be hands-on with every aspect of the film.

It’s the only time in my life where you hear a logline and then he says what he’s going to write and then he writes it. Then he goes and shoots it, then he goes and cuts it, and then he goes and delivers it. It was just the most straight line.

Watts also noted that, despite his deep affection for Spider-Man’s ‘Home’ trilogy, it will never truly be his own. Wolfs, however, provides him with the chance to create something that is entirely his own.

I was just getting started and Marvel came along — and I take full creative ownership over all those films — but Spider-Man is always going to be Stan Lee and Steve Ditko‘s creation, this was the chance for me to go back to my voice and my vision and my style. Wolfs is mine, and that’s a really good feeling.

Watts feels that the success of No Way Home is massive and likely unmatched, suggesting that such an achievement may never be replicated.

That was such a specific moment in time, and the reaction to that movie was just so unbelievable. It’s never going to be like this, ever again.

Wolfs will premiere out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024. It will have a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on September 20, and will be available on Apple TV+ starting September 27.

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