Arrested development

Sometimes it’s clear that a collab is never going to work out, and the only thing to do is get out. Tom Fordy recounts 15 instances when directors decided to make a premature exit

- Tom Fordy

There’s no such thing as an easy film production. Movies - especially blockbusters - are mammoth undertakings that involve many moving parts and contributing factors. And for a production to come together, these factors - including the creative vision of filmmakers, actors and studios - must align. It’s little wonder that so many of these projects languish in “development hell” for years on end.

That said, not every production is so tough that the director cuts their losses and walks away. But it does happen. And it seems to have happened more frequently in recent years, as studios prioritise franchise blockbusters built on moneymaking formulas that seem to curb originality and stifle creative freedom.

As you'll read below, numerous directors have left major productions – some in the early stages, others at the last minute – over so-called “creative differences”. Here are 15 times when a director walked away from a blockbuster.

15. Edgar Wright - Ant-Man (2015)

It is to use a Marvel term - the greatest "what if?" in the MCU: Ant-Man as directed by British geekdom's favourite filmmaker, Edgar Wright, from a script by Wright and Joe Cornish. Wright and Cornish had been developing an Ant-Man project since before the MCU existed, with Wright showing test footage to fans at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2012.

But Wright departed the film after Marvel pursued a script draft without him. “I wanted to make a Marvel movie, but I don’t think they really wanted to make an Edgar Wright movie,” he later said, adding: “Suddenly becoming a director-for-hire on it, you're sort of less emotionally invested and you start to wonder why you're there, really.”

14. Justin Lin – Fast X (2023)